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Ballistic pendulum prelab preparation

The Ballistic Pendulum worksheets, videos and all other lab-related content is found at:



Click the Video Introduction link to get acquainted with Hooke’s Law and harmonic motion.

Visit the following site to get a feel for the concepts behind the calculations you will have to do in analyzing this experiment and try a few sample calculations for yourself.



The formula that relates the ball speed to the maximum angle that the box reaches can be found in the Theory link for the Ballistic Pendulum experiment. Enter it here:

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Enter for the five trials below, the simulation settings and your predicted speed of the ball:

|trial | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |

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|g | | | | | | |

|mass of ball | | | | | | |

|mass of box | | | | | | |

|length of string | | | | | | |

|maximum angle | | | | | | |

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|predicted speed | | | | | | |

|correct speed | | | | | | |

Your predicted speed and the correct speed from the simulation should agree. Make sure that your calculator is set to degrees and that you are using the correct units in the calculation.

Play with the following simulation, which may help you get a feel for how changing the values of the colliding masses and other initial parameters changes the final values of some of the final parameters.



Summarize below in a few sentences the sequential energy conversion steps that begin with the compression of the launcher spring and end with the elevation of the pendulum to a maximum height above it’s initial equilibrium position. These steps are outlined in the Theory for this experiment.

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Login to Turnitin and submit this file in your Ballistic Pendulum prelab assignment before the “Due” time and date shown. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your report. Turnitin will not accept submissions after the set due date/time. Note that overdue prelab reports are assigned agrade of zero.

Read through the rest of the lab instructions for this experiment in this document.

Print a copy of the Ballistic Pendulum experiment to bring to your scheduled lab session. The data, observations and notes entered on these pages will be needed when you write your lab report. Compile these printouts to create a lab book for the course.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW READY TO PROCEED WITH THE EXPERIMENT!

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