Many students are unable to distinguish clearly between momentum and kinetic energy and to recognize which is conserved in specific situations

Resources to Address This

• Investigating momentum during collisions (11-16)

  Ref - Practical physics; Forces and motion; Momentum in two dimensioins: Momentum interchanges with other objects

  A moving glider on a linear air track collides with a stationary glider, thus giving it some momentum. This datalogging experiment explores the relationship between the momentum of the initially moving glider, and the momentum of both gliders after the collision.

  The event can also be described in terms energy transfer.

  View Resource

References

• Loverude, M. E. (2005) Student Understanding Of Gravitational Potential Energy And The Motion Of Bodies In A Gravitational Field, AIP Conference Proceedings, 790, 77, California State University Fullerton, American Institute of Physics.

  Review sheet