DYNAMIC CARTS

STUDY GUIDE
INTRODUCTION it.” It states that the value of an unbalanced force (F)
is equal to its mass (m) times acceleration (a).
Dynamics carts are used in studies of many
different principles of physics including energy, F=m x a
forces, speed, velocity, acceleration, momentum, Stated another way, the acceleration is directly
inertia and Newton’s Laws of motion. Energy is related to the unbalanced force: the stronger the
defined as the ability to do work. There are many force, the greater the acceleration. The acceleration
types of energy including mechanical, electrical, is inversely related to the mass: the greater the
sound, heat, light and chemical energy. Kinetic mass, the less the acceleration.
energy is the energy of movement and potential Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that "For
energy is the energy of position or structure. Energy every action there is an equal and opposite
can be transferred from one object to another and reaction." For example, the jet engines of a plane
transformed from one type of energy to another. push air very quickly out the back of the plane. The
When two objects collide, such as your dynamic air pushes back on the plane with the same force
carts, kinetic energy can be transferred from one and the plane moves forward very quickly. This law
cart to another and transformed to sound and heat. is also called the action-reaction principle.
A force is defined as a push or a pull. Forces Momentum is defined as the product of an
are classified as either contact or action-at-a- object’s mass and its velocity. Newton called this the
distance forces. Pushing a lawn mower is an “quantity of motion” of an object. For example, a
example of a contact force (two objects actually large truck traveling at 60 mph has a greater
touching each other) whereas gravity is an example momentum than a small car traveling at the same
of a force that acts on an object at some distance speed. Their velocity is the same but because the
from the object. Friction is a special kind of contact truck has a greater mass, its momentum is also
force that occurs when two objects rub against each greater. Similarly, a small bullet fired from a gun
other. The heavier an object is, the greater the doesn’t have much mass but because its speed is so
frictional force that holds it in place. great, it has a greater momentum than a heavier
When unbalanced forces act on an object, a object moving slowly (such as a chair pushed slowly
change of motion occurs. This is part of Newton’s across a room).
First Law of Motion which says, “Every body The momentum of an object remains constant
remains in a state of rest or uniform motion in a unless its velocity or mass changes. The momentum
straight line unless acted upon by an external force.” of several objects in a system is equal to the sum of
For example, if you push a toy car, the force of your the momenta of these objects. The Conservation
hand pushing the car is stronger than the force of of Momentum Law states that the total momentum
friction that acts to hold it in place and the car of a system is conserved as momentum is
moves. If there are no unbalanced forces acting on transferred from one object to another. The
an object at rest, it will tend to remain at rest; if it is momentum lost by one object is gained by the other
in motion, it will tend to remain in motion. Related to object. The application of this principle will be
this law is the concept of inertia, which is a property demonstrated in the following experiments.
of matter that causes it to resist changes in its state Your dynamic carts are useful for studies of the
of motion. physical principles listed above because they are
Motion is a change in position of an object. The designed to minimize any frictional forces between
distance of movement per time interval is referred to the cart and the wheels and they are also designed
as speed. Velocity takes into account the speed of to travel in relatively straight lines. They can be
an object but also the direction it travels. Velocity weighted with various masses to see the effect of
can change over time as well; objects increase or extra mass on velocity, momentum and acceleration.
decrease in speed or change direction of movement. We have included several experiments in your kit
This change in the rate of velocity over time is called instructions, but there are many other possibilities to
acceleration. A car that is turning, one that is explore beyond those given here. These activities
braking and one that is speeding up are all will reinforce the scientific skills of observation,
accelerating because their velocity is changing over quantifying and predicting.
time.
Newton’s Second Law of Motion states, “The
force required to accelerate an object is proportional
to the mass of the object and the acceleration given

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ASSEMBLY AND GENERAL OPERATION 7. For all the experiments, make certain that the
table you are using is as level as possible. Set a
Your dynamic carts assembly includes the
cart on the table at different spots and see if it
following items:
rolls in one direction or if it remains stationary.
Dynamic carts, 2 Metal bands, 2 Even a slight slope to the table can lead to
Spring Screws, 2 errors in the experimental results.
Piston Rubber bands, 10 8. When moving the carts and causing various
Metal cylinder Instructions collisions, make certain the carts are aligned in a
In addition to these items, you will also need straight line, perpendicular to the ends of the
a large level table or board with 2 wooden table.
bumpers or blocks clamped to either end 9. For all the experiments, you will need a barrier
a watch with a second hand of some type at either end of the table. We
weights (like small bricks or bags of sand) suggest clamping pieces of wood to the ends
1. Attach the spring to the piston by slipping the using c-clamps. You can use heavy objects like
end loop of the spring through the two holes in a stack of books or weighted boxes but these
the end of the piston to make a secure will take up room on the table, leaving less
attachment. Make certain you do not stretch the space for the motion of the carts. The barriers
spring out of shape in the process. (If the spring need to be firmly fixed and not moved when
is already attached to the piston, skip this step impacted by the carts.
and go on to step 2.) 10. For experiments involving the piston, we
2. One cart has a metal cylinder down its length recommend using the softer collision setting first
with a screw that secures it. Unscrew the screw and then using the harder collision if you wish to
from the cylinder and insert the spring (attached repeat the set of experiments with a different
to the piston) into the cylinder with a twisting force.
motion until the loop of the spring is visible 11. All of the following experiments involve careful
through the free end. Make sure the slots in the observation of the motion of the carts. In
piston attached to the spring are facing up particular, pay close attention to their speed and
toward the top of the cart. direction before, during, and immediately after
3. Slowly screw down the screw through the cart, impact.
the metal cylinder and the loop of the spring.
You may need to reposition the spring so that CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM (A)
the screw passes through the loop.
Experiment 1
4. The slots of the piston should be facing the top
of the cart, and the screw should be securing the The problem statements you will answer with
metal spring and the metal cylinder. Try pulling this experiment are: "What affect does an
the piston a few times to make sure the spring is explosive force from a piston have on the
secure and is free to move. velocity of two opposing carts at rest? How
5. To operate the piston, push it back into the does increasing the mass of one of the carts
cylinder until the metal slot clicks into place and change this affect on velocities?"
the wooden peg pops up. There are two slots or 1. Push the piston in to the first slot and set this
possible positions for the piston, one for softer cart against the other cart, so that they are
collisions and one for harder collisions. To facing each other, with the piston touching the
release the piston, push down on the wooden other cart. Measure from the wooden barriers to
peg. (Use caution when operating the piston the carts on either end so that the carts are
and keep your face away from this area at all equal distances from the barriers.
times. The release force of the piston is 2. Check again to make sure the piston of the first
quite strong and the piston could cause cart is in contact with the front of the second cart
bruises or injury to the eyes if used and then release the spring.
improperly! Do not let small children operate 3. Record the time elapsed in seconds from the
this instrument.) release of the piston to when the carts hit the
6. To attach the metal bands for use as bumpers, barrier. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times and
curve the metal band to form a loop with the use the average of the time values to record in
holes in the ends of the band aligned. Place the Table 1. Also record the average distance each
holes of the band over the hole in the end of the cart traveled, from their starting point to the
dynamics cart. Screw down the bands to the barrier. Do both carts impact the barriers at
hole. (Both carts have holes to attach the metal the same time?
bumpers.)

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4. Repeat these steps again, this time adding a 1- CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM (B)
kilogram (kg) weight to the cart without a piston.
You can use a weight of another size but the Experiment 2
experiment works best if you know the mass of The problem statements you will answer in this
the weight. experiment are: What affect does an explosive
5. Record the time for the carts to hit the barrier force from a piston have on the velocities of two
and the distance traveled again in Table 1. opposing carts at rest if the piston is not in
Which cart impacts the barrier first? contact with the 2nd cart? Does this affect on the
velocities change if the mass of one of the carts
6. Repeat the procedure again, increasing the
mass on one cart to 2 kg and then 3 kg. When increases?
the weights increase, the heavier cart might not 1. Repeat the entire procedure given above for
make it to the barrier before it stops. In this experiment 1 but do not let the piston be in
case, the distance traveled for the weighted cart contact with the 2nd cart before release. Let the
(from the starting point until it stops) would need piston be some distance from the 2nd cart before
to be measured each time. release but still contacting the 2nd cart after
7. Record your results. Velocity is distance release.
traveled over time. Calculate the velocities for 2. What happens to the velocities of the carts
the carts from your data. after the collision as compared to when the
8. Try to determine a relationship between mass, piston is in contact with the 2nd cart before
velocity and transfer of momentum. How does release?
adding mass affect the velocity and The velocities and therefore momentum of the
momentum? carts will be less because the energy of the spring
and piston when it contacts the cart is less. The
You should see that when both carts are empty,
piston’s greatest kinetic energy and velocity is when
the explosion of the piston causes both carts to
is it first released. By the time it reaches the end of
impact the barrier at the same time. The potential
the spring release, the energy and velocity decrease
energy in the coiled spring of the piston converts to
appreciably and the piston strikes the cart with less
kinetic energy, the piston “explodes” and hits the
force. The carts’ velocities decrease as a result.
opposing cart. This cart pushes with an equal and
opposite reaction on the other cart. The two carts
now have kinetic energy and velocity; they are COLLISION OF 2 CARTS: 1 AT REST
moving in a certain direction over time. Since both
Experiment 3
carts have a mass and velocity, they also have
momentum. Remember that momentum is a Problem statements: If a moving object
product of an object’s mass and velocity. The collides with another object that is at rest, what
momentum in the cart system is conserved and both will the resultant velocities of the two objects
carts travel at the same speed in opposite directions be? Are the resultant velocities affected if one
as they have approximately the same mass. object’s mass increases?
When one cart is weighted, its velocity 1. Attach the metal bumpers to the carts as
decreases and the other cart’s velocity increases. described in “Assembly.”
As more and more weights are added, the weighted 2. With one cart at rest, roll the other cart into the
cart’s velocity decreases more and the other cart’s resting cart so that the bumpers collide.
velocity increases more. The weighted cart
3. Repeat this procedure 2-3 times and take the
decreases in velocity because, as you add masses
average value for time elapsed to record in
to it, it still has the same initial force that gives it
Table 1 (the time from the point of collision to
motion (the explosion). Since this same force has to
when the cart hits the wooden barrier). Try to
move a larger mass that has more inertia, the cart
use the same force each time when pushing the
moves more slowly. Also, because this cart has
carts. Also record the average distance
increased in mass, its momentum increases. With
between the starting position of the resting cart
its greater momentum, it pushes on the other cart
to where it collides with the barrier. What
with a greater force. Since the lighter cart has not
happens to the resting cart? What happens
changed in mass, the greater momentum it receives
to the rolling cart?
is translated into a greater velocity.
4. Repeat the above steps, with a 1 kg weight on
the resting cart, using the same force to push
the moving cart. Repeat again using 2 and 3 kg
weights on the resting cart. Record your results.
Remember that the weights will slow one cart
down and it might stop before the barrier.
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 Measure the distance traveled from the starting while the lighter cart rebounds at a higher speed
point to where the cart stops. than previously. Can you explain how this
5. Repeat #4, putting the weights on the moving demonstrates the conservation of momentum?
cart this time, and record the results.
6. Determine the velocities of the carts from your FORCE AND ACCELERATION STUDY
data. How does adding weights affect the
Experiment 5
velocity of the moving cart? Of the resting
cart? Problem statements: What is the relationship
between the force on an object and the resultant
When the two carts have no weights and the
acceleration of the object? For a given force,
moving cart (A) collides with the resting cart (B), cart
how does increasing the mass of the object
A stops and cart B moves on with approximately the
same velocity that A had before the collision. affect its acceleration?
When cart A is weighted with 1, 2, and 3 kg 1. Hook one rubber band around the front plate of
weights, its inertia increases and it no longer one of the carts. Hold the cart against one of
completely stops after the collision but continues the wooden barriers and stretch the rubber
rolling in the same direction, only more slowly. Cart bands in front of the cart the same distance (two
B is sent off at a greater velocity than when cart A people work best, one to hold the cart and one
did not have weights. When cart B is weighted, it person to stretch the rubber band).
has a greater inertia and moves more slowly after 2. Release the cart, and as it travels toward the
the collision, while cart A rebounds in the opposite rubber band, lift the band slightly so the cart
direction. Momentum of the system is conserved in does not run over it. The important point is to
both cases, with the lighter cart’s velocity being not let the band retard the speed of the cart; but
greater after impact due to its mass being less than don’t pull up on the cart or interfere with its
the cart which has weights. motion with the band after release.
3. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times and record in
COLLISION OF 2 CARTS: MOVING IN Table 2 the average time elapsed from the point
of release until the cart reaches the wooden
OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS barrier. Also record the average distance from
Experiment 4 the starting point of the cart to the barrier.
Problem statements: If two objects moving in 4. Repeat this procedure ,successively adding
opposite directions collide, what will their more weights to the cart (1 kg, 2 kg and 3 kg).
resultant velocities be? How will increasing the Record your results and determine the velocity
mass of one of the objects affect the resultant of the cart.
velocities? 5. Determine the acceleration of the cart (a) by
1. Measure the midway point from the wooden dividing the change in velocity ( v) over the time
barriers to the center of the table. elapsed (t). For example, if an unweighted cart
2. With the metal bumpers attached, roll the two with a force of one rubber band went from a
carts into each other with the same speed so velocity of zero to 1 meter per second in 2
that their bumpers collide. Make the carts seconds then the acceleration would be the
collide at the midway point between the barriers. change in velocity (1 m/s final velocity – 0 m/s
initial velocity) divided by the time elapsed (2
3. Repeat this procedure 2-3 times and record the seconds) or
average time from the point of impact that it
takes the carts to hit the wooden barrier. Also a = v/t = (1 m/s – 0 m/s) / 2 s = 0.5 m/s2
record the average distance the carts traveled 6. How does adding weights affect the cart’s
from their collision point to the barriers. velocity and acceleration?
4. Load one of the carts with a 1 kg weight and roll 7. Remove the weights and repeat this procedure,
the carts into each other with the same speed. adding a second rubber band to one of the carts
Record time and distance as described above. and recording your results. How does
5. Add more weights (2 kg and 3 kg) to the loaded increasing the force affect the acceleration of the
cart and repeat. cart?
6. Determine the velocities of the carts from your 8. Successively add 1, 2, and 3 kg weights to the
data. What relationship do you see between cart with 2 rubber bands, repeat the procedure
mass and velocity? and record the results.
When both carts collide and neither is weighted, 9. Continue on, using three rubber bands with one
they rebound with equal velocities. When one cart is cart and so on up to 10, with and without
weighted, the heavier cart rebounds more slowly weights.
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 How does the increased force of additional greater momentum as you experiment with different
rubber bands affect the acceleration of the speeds and weights on the cart.
carts? To see this relationship, plot the data on a Tell the child about friction. Explain that this is a
graph with the number of rubber bands (force) on force that results when two substances rub against
the x-axis and acceleration on the y-axis. one another. There is a frictional force between your
Force is directly proportional to mass and mass shoe and the ground, between a wheel and the
is inversely proportional to acceleration, as we saw road, between a table and a cup you slide over it.
earlier in Newton’s 2nd law (F = m x a). Your results This force slows down the carts; otherwise they
should show that adding force to the cart by adding would keep moving indefinitely. Ask the child to
rubber bands causes that cart to hit the barrier think what would happen if there was no friction.
sooner. Its velocity and therefore acceleration Would they be able to walk? Drive? Ride a bike?
increases. Adding mass to the cart causes it to take There are many applications that young children
more time to hit the barrier. Its velocity and can make of their studies of motion and momentum
therefore acceleration have decreased. to the world around them. Use their toys, home, and
environment to help them investigate further the
TEACHING TIPS forces and movement of objects.
FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Begin the topic of momentum by defining a force FURTHER STUDY
as a pull or a push. Ask your child to describe Although many of the differences in velocities
different pushes and pulls that they do or see every and impact times of the above experiments can be
day (a person pulling a cart, a bulldozer pushing dirt, estimated and general trends observed, high school
gravity pulling a feather to earth). The child should level work should include more exact measurements
be able to see that all movement is a result of a of time and speed. We recommend purchasing a
force. Use a small paper clip and ask the child to recording timer to exactly measure the distances
think of various forces that they could use to move traveled by the carts and the elapsed time. Graph
the paper clip. They could use a magnet (magnetic the data and determine the velocities and
force), drop the paper clip (gravity), push or pull the accelerations of the carts for the various
paper clip with their fingers or blow on it with air from experiments.
their mouth (contact forces). You can use the dynamics carts with inclined
Explain that magnetic forces and gravity are planes to study the force of gravity and the
examples of forces that act at a distance. We can’t mechanical advantages for inclined planes as well
see these forces, but they are real--we can see their as the amount of work done by inclined planes.
effects. We can’t see God either, but we do see His Additional items that would be helpful are an inclined
effects. There are many parts of God’s creation that plane, a spring scale, a recording timer and a
are real but are also invisible. Can you think of other physics textbook for appropriate equations.
examples? Ask your child how the principles of momentum
Define momentum in terms of size and speed; that they have observed are utilized in the world
big, fast objects have more momentum than small, around them. For example, many forms of martial
slow object. Have the child slap the palm of his own arts utilize the principles of conservation and transfer
hand slowly with a small object like a plastic cup, of momentum. In some self-defense maneuvers, the
then slap it quickly. He feels in his receiving hand momentum of large person is redirected by changing
the difference of momentum or force of the two their motion (a flip, throw or block) instead of being
speeds for the same object. Explain that the first completely transferred to their opponent as would
time, the cup is traveling slowly and has less happen by receiving a blow. Can you think of other
momentum or force than the second time. Then, ways this principle could be applied
have the child slap his palm again with the same cup advantageously?
at a slow speed. Give the child a much heavier cup Explain that the topics of this investigation are
and have them slap their palm again at the same very broad; forces, momentum, speed, and the other
speed. Explain that the larger cup has the same concepts are all describing the way matter and
speed as the smaller, but its momentum is greater energy behave. These phenomena are predictable;
because it weighs more. they follow certain mathematical relationships of
Let the children watch the collision experiments direct or indirect proportionality. The movement of
given above. They will be able to absorb quite a bit objects can be predicted and described based on
of the “common sense” of momentum without these relationships, if the investigator applies the
necessarily knowing the reasons for its occurrence. equations properly. What does this predictability
Ask them what forces they see as the carts move and orderliness of the physical principle of motion
and collide together. Ask them which cart has the reveal about the nature of God?

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 TABLE 1.
Velocity of Carts
(d = distance traveled after impact, t = time elapsed)
Experiment (v = velocity = d/t)
No weights 1kg 2 kg 3 kg
nd
#1. Piston contacting 2 cart d t v d t v d t v d t v
Cart 1
Cart 2
#2. Piston not contacting 2nd cart
Cart 1
Cart 2
#3. 1 cart collides with 2nd cart at rest
st

Trial 1: weight on resting cart

TABLE 2.
Force & Acceleration Velocity of Carts
Experiment (d = distance traveled after impact, t = time elapsed)
(v = velocity = d/t, a = acceleration = v/t)
No weights 1kg 2 kg 3 kg
d t v a d t v a d t v a d t v a
Trial 1: no rubber bands
Trial 2: 1 rubber band
Trial 3: 2 rubber bands
Trial 4: 3 rubber bands
Trial 5: 4 rubber bands
Trial 6: 5 rubber bands
Trial 7: 6 rubber bands
Trial 8: 7 rubber bands
Trial 9: 8 rubber bands
Trial 10: 9 rubber bands
Trial 11: 10 rubber bands

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