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Web Activities
UNIT 2 - ENERGY AND MOMENTUM
Chapter 5 - Momentum and Collisions
5.1 Momentum and Impulse
5.3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
5.4 Conservation of Momentum in Two Dimensions
Chapter 5 Review (p. 271)
Chapter 5 - Momentum and Collisions
5.1 Momentum and Impulse
Section 5.1 Questions (p. 238)
- A collision analyst applies physics principles to reconstruct
what happened at automobile crashes. Assume that during a head-on
crash between two cars, the cars came to a stop, and a large component
of a plastic bumper broke off one car and skidded along the highway
shoulder leaving skid marks.
- What information could the analyst gather from the bumper
component and from the skid marks it produced? What measurements
would be needed to estimate the speed of the cars just before
the collision, and how would they be used?
- Find out more about how traffic collision analysts apply
physics and math in their investigations using the Internet or
other suitable publications. Report your findings in a paper,
highlighting connections with momentum.
Traffic
Collisions and Reaction Time
Applet that lets you change reaction time of drivers, car speed,
and distance between cars.
National
Crash Analysis Centre
The FHWA/NHTSA National Crash Analysis Centre is a federally funded
research centre concentrating on vehicle crash research. Follow
the links below for more information
Accident
Reconstruction Calculator Homepage
Software that allows you to reconstruct automobile collisions.

5.3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
Section 5.3 Questions (p. 253)
- Chunks of material from space, both large and small, collide
with Earth. Research the sizes of these materials and the frequencies
of the collisions, as well as some of the well-known collisions scientists
have studied. Some famous impact sites are Sudbury, Ontario; Chicxulub,
Mexico; and Tunguska, Russia. Write a brief report summarizing what
you discover.
NASA
- A Richter Scale for Cosmic Collisions
This Web site shows the ways NASA can sense if there has been a
cosmic collision. Good diagrams with an animation.
Meteor,
Meterorites and Impacts
Overall discussion of objects that hit Earth and lots of statistics.
There are also great links at this page.
Explore
the Science of Meteors
Great site that includes historical hits, what happens to the object
as it travels through Earth's atmosphere, and a calendar of upcoming
meteor showers.

5.4 Conservation of Momentum in Two Dimensions
Practice (p. 258)
- Choose a sport or recreational activity in which participants
wear protective equipment.
- Describe the design and function of the protective equipment.
- Based on the scientific concepts and principles you have
studied thus far, explain how the equipment accomplishes its intended
functions.
- Using the Internet or other appropriate publications, research
your chosen protective equipment. Use what you discover to enhance
your answer in (b).
Science@
The Exploratorium
The science behind a number of different sports. Look at the section
on hockey in particular to investigate materials used in different
parts of equipment.
National
Institute for Sports Science and Safety
A nonprofit research and education institute for the prevention
of sports injuries and related musculoskeletal research through
the study of injury mechanisms and protective sports equipment.
Sports
Materials
A site that discusses how different materials are tested and used
in different sports.
Section 5.4 Questions (p. 259)
- Today's consumers are well aware that safety features are important
in automobiles. For an automobile of your choice, analyze the design,
the operation of the vehicle in a collision or other emergency, and
the economic and social costs and benefits of its safety features.
Use the following questions as a guideline.
- What social and economic issues do you think are important
in automobile safety, from an individual point of view, as well
as society's point of view?
- For the automobile you have chosen to analyze, what safety
features do you feel are essential?
- What safety features are lacking that you think would be
beneficial to the driver and passengers?
- Considering your answers in (a), (b), and (c), perform a
cost-benefit analysis of developing safety devices in automobiles.
Write concluding remarks.
National
Crash Analysis Centre
The FHWA/NHTSA National Crash Analysis Centre is a federally funded
research centre concentrating on vehicle crash research. Lots of
information about safety considerations can be found here.
National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
An American source that includes a wealth of car safety, test results,
and recall information.
Ford
Motor Company
This site lists all of the vehicles offered by Ford. If you choose
a vehicle, follow the links to the specifications for that vehicle.

Chapter 5 Review (p. 271)
- On a navy aircraft carrier, an arrester hook is used to help
stop a high-speed aircraft on the relatively short landing strip.
Research the Internet or other appropriate publications to find out
how this device successfully converts the kinetic energy of the aircraft
to other forms of energy. Describe what you discover.
Arresting
Hook
This website is part of a group of sites that explains the inner
workings of an F-14 Tomcat warplane. It explains exactly how the
arresting hook works by describing the process that a pilot might
go through when landing on an aircraft carrier. It also mentions
what might potentially go wrong during a landing.
Arresting
Wire
This picture and caption demonstrate how the arresting wire that
the hook catches is designed to act as a massive shock absorber
in order to stop a heavy plane in a very short distance. This page
is provided by the media centre of the U.S. military's navy site.
Arresting
Hook Assembly
This picture shows how the arresting hook assembly is integrated
into the body of an airplane.
- A space shuttle, used to transport equipment and astronauts to
and from the international Space Station, has an "ablation shield"
on the front. This shield is needed to protect the shuttle from collisions
with objects. Research the Internet or other appropriate publications
to find out what the shuttle might collide with, and how the ablation
shield helps to reduce the damage to the craft.
Human
Space Flight - Shuttle reference Manual
Details of all aspects of the design and functions of the space
shuttle.

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