Trolley B will be at rest and trolley A will be given a push such that it collides with B, and they both move as one mass after the collision. As soon as the blocker of the picket fence on trolley A passes through the eye of the first photogate, trolley A must collide with trolley B, and immediately after collision, the blocker on the picket fence of trolley B must enter the eye of the second photogate.
1)Why must the collision take place immediately after blocker A leaces the eye of the photogate?
2) Why must blocker B enter the eye of the photogate immediately after collision?
1) So that the photogate could record the velocity before the collision. Blocker A also will have time to gain momentum
2) So that we know the velcocity immediately after the collision other wise veolocity will be lost if it wasn't immediately afet the collision.
Are my answers correct. I am not sure whether 1) or 2) is correct. Thanks for helping me out. I really apprecitate it.
Both are correct answers.
1) Yes, your answer is correct. The collision must take place immediately after blocker A leaves the eye of the photogate because this allows the photogate to accurately record the velocity of trolley A before the collision. If the collision were to happen after some time has passed, the recorded velocity would no longer be representative of trolley A's initial velocity.
Additionally, by colliding immediately after blocker A passes through the photogate, blocker A will have more time to gain momentum before the collision. This will result in a larger change in momentum during the collision, providing more accurate data for analysis.
2) Your answer is also correct. Blocker B must enter the eye of the second photogate immediately after the collision because this allows us to measure the velocity of the combined masses (trolley A and B) immediately after the collision. If blocker B entered the eye of the photogate at a later time, the measured velocity would not accurately reflect the post-collision velocity.
By measuring the velocity immediately after the collision, we can determine crucial information such as the conservation of momentum and whether any kinetic energy was lost during the collision. This data can be used to analyze the effectiveness of the collision and gain insights into the physics principles at play.