Conservation of momentum in two-dimensional elastic collision

Abstract

Two-dimensional elastic collision of pucks was used to examine the conservation of momentum. Two pucks of different masses were made to collide in a low-friction table. The components of the initial and final velocities of the pucks were obtained through analysis of the collision. The measured velocities were used to determine the initial and final momenta of the pucks. The experimental values obtained verified that momentum is conserved in the collision. The kinetic energy of the system is also conserved which supports the claim of elastic collision. The setup proposed in this paper is suitable for experiments on conservation of momentum and kinetic energy in undergraduate physics laboratory.