|
Meg Chen |
University of British Columbia |
PHYS 420C (2024) |
Overview
The Ballistic Car, also
known as The Howitzer Cart, is a classic demonstration involving a cart moving
at constant velocity and launching a ball, initially inside the car, upwards
while the cart is moving. In Physics 11 and 12, students are introduced to
concepts of kinematics, forces, Newton's laws of motion, frames of reference,
and more. However, connecting all the concepts and visualizing the ideas in
real life may be confusing. This demonstration can allow students to
effectively connect and observe physics concepts learned in the high school
physics curriculum. The demonstration consists of 4 parts: launching the ball
while the cart is stationary, moving at constant velocity, and accelerating,
and launching a lighter ball while the cart is moving at constant velocity.
