Collisions

Velocity of cart 1, before collision

1.0 m/s 6.0 m/s

1.0

Velocity of cart 2, before collision

-3.0 m/s 3.0 m/s

0.0

Elasticity of the collision

0.0 1.0

1.0

Graph:

Masses:

Check here to show the center of mass

This simulation gives you many perspectives on a one-dimensional collision between two carts. You can see graphs of momentum, kinetic energy, velocity, or position as a function of time. Alternatively, you can see momentum bar graphs showing, for each cart separately as well as the two-cart system, the momentum before the collision, the amount of momentum transferred to the cart or system during the collision, and the momentum after the collision.

Simulation first posted on 8-19-2016. Written by Andrew Duffy
Modified 10-19-2016 to include a zero line for the bar graphs and +/- arrows
Modified 10-13-2017 to give the velocity sliders more range
Modified 01-04-2018 to correct the position graph
Modified 10-14-2018 to add some color coding
Modified 10-16-2018 to add custom buttons

This work by Andrew Duffy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This simulation can be found in the collection at http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/classroom.html.

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