CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM: THE BALLISTIC PENDULUM

Abstract The second experiment deals with the conservation of momentum and energy. The law was observed through the use of the ballistic pendulum. Since the ballistic pendulum is an apparatus which is used to measure the speed of a bullet, it illustrated the principles involved in the conservation of energy and momentum. For the first part, our purpose was to determine the velocity of the steel ball using the ballistic method. As the ball was launched, the angles that were observed were all nearly of the same value. The velocity was calculated to be 486.28 cm/s. We were asked on the second part to get the velocity of the ball but using the trajectory method unlike the first part. In here, only the horizontal distance was recorded for each trial. Computing for the velocity gave us 463.63 cm/s. Using the formula for the percentage difference, we obtained a 4.77% difference. Keywords: law of conservation of momentum and energy, ballistic pendulum, trajectory Introduction The determination of the velocity of the steel ball was done using the ballistic pendulum since the pendulum is also used to measure the velocity of a bullet. The theory is to have the steel ball have a completely inelastic collision with a body of a much greater mass. At the system immediately after the collision, the momentum of the system is equal to the original momentum of the bullet. Since the velocity in the system is much smaller compared to a bullet, it can be simply determined. The system of the ballistic pendulum is a closed system since no external force will act on the system and thus the conservation of momentum can be observed. Upon collision, if the time it took to collide is quite smaller in contrast to pendulums time of swing, the supporting rod will look and practically just be vertical. This demonstrates the theory behind the conservation of momentum using the ballistic pendulum. For both parts of the experiment, the velocity before the collision is the one that will be used for comparison. Using the ballistic method the formula

(1)

will be used. v1 represents the velocity before collision, m1 is the mass of the steel ball, and m2 is the mass of the pendulum. The formula (2)

is the velocity of the steel ball and pendulum immediately after collision where g is the acceleration due to gravity and y is the increase in height. As for the second part which uses the trajectory method, only the height from the reference point to the ground, y, the average horizontal distance, x, and the velocity of the steel ball before collision, v2, is used.

Methodology
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(3)

1. Ballistic Pendulum, Initial Velocity Determine the masses involved in the setup and the measurements needed such as the initial height. Lower down the pendulum and fire the steel ball. Get the angle displaced. Repeat for four more times and get the mean angle. After getting the mean angle, set the pendulum bob into it and measure the new height. The difference in the height is the y that will be used for equation 2. Then use equation 1 for the computation of the velocity.

Figure 1. Setup for firing the steel ball using the ballistic method. 2. Trajectory Method, Initial Velocity Once again, set up the apparatus. Leave the pendulum on the top and let the ball be fired freely. Measure the reference point of the ball from the ground, y. Try to fire the ball and estimate where it will land and place a white piece of paper with a carbon paper atop. Fire the ball and keep track as to where it landed on the paper. Do five trials and compute for the average horizontal displacement, x. Then use equation 3 to calculate the velocity.

Figure 2. Setup for using the trajectory method. Results and Discussion
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The measurement of the steel ball was known to be 65.875 g and the mass of the pendulum is 245.5 g. The values of these two masses were substituted into equation 1 to get the velocity for the first part of the experiment and that is 486.28 cm/s. Table 1. Getting the Initial Velocity of the Steel Ball, Ballistic Method Trial 1 2 3 4 5 Angle 37 37 38 36.5 37 Initial Height of the Pendulum, y1 Final Height of the Pendulum, y2 Increase in Height, y Velocity of the steel ball and the pendulum right after collision, u Velocity of the pendulum before collision, v1b Velocity of the steel ball before collision, v1 3.4 cm 8.8 cm 5.4 cm 102.87 cm/s 0 cm/s 486.28 cm/s

Average angle: 37.1

This part, using equation 3 to get the velocity, only needed the average horizontal distance and the height from the reference point to the ground and these values will be substituted to equation 3 to get the velocity using the trajectory method. Table 2. Getting the Initial Velocity of the Steel Ball, Trajectory Method Trial 1 2 3 4 5 Horizontal Distance, x 58 cm 56.5 cm 59 cm 56 cm 59.2 cm Velocity of the steel ball before collision, v2 463.63 cm/s

Height from the reference point to the ground, y

7.6 cm

Average x: 57.74 cm

Only a little computation was done and everything was either measured or simply substituted. To determine the gap between the two velocities, the formula for the percent difference was used. And it gave a percentage of 4.77%. (4) Conclusion
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The conservation of energy and momentum can most easily be observed and performed in a closed system and so the ballistic pendulum provided to be a great example. Determination of the velocity of the steel ball was easily done since the experiment proved to be quite easy. Using the pendulum to obtain the velocity of the steel ball was done using the principles of conservation of energy and momentum. As for the second part, the use of the trajectory method or projection motion was used and the acquired velocity is to be compared with the first. Only a little difference was observed through the percent difference and perhaps some human errors was made during measurements. Using two methods to determine the velocity of the steel ball just affirms that there can be many ways of measuring the velocity of an object. References Book [1] Young, Hugh D. and Freedman, Roger A., University Physics 12th Edition, 247-255 (2008).