COLLISION! What's That?

COLLISION

Elastic v. Inelastic

Two things collide with each other!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how elastic or inelastic is the collision?

1            2            3              4            5             6              7              8             9            10

ELASTIC                                                                                                INELASTIC

(has a lot of "give")                                                                            (not enough "give")

 You can find out just what this means when you have an

EGG TOSS -- OR WATER BALLOON TOSS

Use an easily breakable item – that's why we use an egg or a water balloon.

In a contest like this, after each round, you take a giant step back, so there is more and more distance involved. The distance adds to the amount of force each time you throw.

How elastic or inelastic a collision?                         It depends on:

USE AN EGG or WATER BALLOON                     WHERE IT LANDS AND HOW IT LANDS

Using the above scale:

                      1                                             on sand or grass or a pillow

                      3                                             in your hands, and keep the arms moving

                      5                                            in your hands, stop all of a sudden

                      7                                             right on you!

                     10                                             on hard ground

                                                                                            

You can find out, too, with pitching and catching:

PITCHER / PITCHING MACHINE

How elastic or inelastic a collision?                           It depends on:

USING DIFFERENT TYPES OF BALLS                HOW YOU PROTECT YOURSELF

cloth ball                                       1                               bare hands

rubber ball                                     3                               bare hands

softball                                          5                               catchers mitt

baseball                                         7                               catchers mitt

ball used in shotput                       10                             2 catchers mitts ??!

SUMMARY: The force is d-i-f-f-u-s-e-d, meaning you s-p-r-e-a-d  o-u-t the force.

This  way  there  is  a  more  elastic  collision,  resulting  in  less  damage.

So, wearing a helmet helps protect you when doing activities such as bicycling or skateboarding. Why? If you fall and hit your head, 
it spreads the force, first, throughout the lining --- protecting YOU. 

How? Less force to your head!