NIOS Class 10 Science Activity 10.4 Force and Motion

In this activity, we will learn about the Conservation of Momentum with a complete explanation. In the previous activity 10.3, we have already discussed Inertia.

NIOS Class 10 Science and Technology (212) Project File

This activity is based on the NIOS Class 10 science and technology (212) chapter 10- Force and Motion from module 3- Moving Things.

Activity 10.4 – Conservation of Momentum

Aim of the activity

 To demonstrate the law of conservation of momentum using marbles

Materials Required

   1. 40 cm long plastic channel

   2. Marbles of the same size (7)

   3. Flat horizontal table

Procedure

 We take a plastic channel and place it on a flat horizontal table. Now we arrange all the marbles in the channel so that they touch each other in a straight line.

We remove one marble and place it about 15 cm away from the row. Now we hit this marble with our forefinger to roll toward the other marbles and collide with them. We observe what happens.

Now we repeat the activity by removing two marbles and hitting them towards the rest of the marbles, and observe what happens.

Observation

We observe that the moving marble comes to rest after the collision, and the last marble of the row moves forward with the same speed as the moving marble.

In the second case, we observe that two moving marbles come to rest after collision, and the last two marbles of the row move forward at the same speed.

Explanation

When moving marbles strike the resting marbles, they transfer their momentum to them.

The moving marbles come to rest, and the resting marbles come into motion with equal speed. This proves the ‘Law of Conservation of Momentum”.

Conclusion

This activity confirms that momentum is always conserved in each case of collision.

Frequently Asked Questions

    1. What does this activity 10.4 show?

Answer – This activity proves that momentum is conserved in a collision when no external force is applied to the system.

    2. What if we use marbles of different sizes in the activity?

Answer – We know that mass affects momentum, so the result may be different.

    3. What is the law of conservation of momentum?

Answer -  Total momentum remains constant before and after the collision if no external force is applied on the system.

All Activities NIOS Class 10 Science and Technology

S.N.	Topics
1	Activity 10.1
2	Activity 10.2
3	Activity 10.3
4	Activity 10.4
5	Activity 10.5
6	Activity 10.6