How did scientists measure the speed of incredibly fast things before the invention of high-speed photography? Scholars virtually perform ballistics tests to discover the process. They control the rifle type, bullet mass, and target type. The momentum and kinetic energy graphs display the results of each trial.

Concepts

ballistics, conservation of momentum, the law of conservation of energy, work, energy, momentum

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use a Nerf gun, if allowed in your school, to test these principles

Classroom Considerations

• Requires a free CK-12 account to access the resource
• Assumes prior knowledge of momentum, kinetic energy, and dissipation
• With many school having zero tolerance policies for weapons, seek prior approval before using the simulation

Pros

• Includes a video tutorial of how to use the simulator
• Offers challenge questions within the simulation in addition to the worksheet questions

Cons

• None

Common Core

RST.6-8.4 RST.9-10.4 RST.11-12.4