Lesson Plan: Collisions and Conservation of Momentum Mathematics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to apply the law of conservation of momentum to study collisions in one dimension and differentiate between elastic and inelastic collisions.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- understand the difference between an elastic collision and an inelastic collision,
- understand the definition of a perfectly inelastic collision,
- solve problems involving elastic collisions of two bodies,
- solve problems involving perfectly inelastic collisions (two bodies coalescing into one body).
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- impulse,
- conservation of momentum,
- potential energy,
- kinetic energy.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- coefficient of restitution,
- problems involving a collision of more than two bodies simultaneously.
