PhysicsLAB: Test Scenario: Spring Gun

Refer to the following information for the next seven questions.

Part I. Two 160-gram billiard balls are simultaneously released from the same height by a spring gun.

(a) If the balls are initially 1.5 meters above the floor, how much time does it take the left ball (the one released from rest) to reach the floor once the gun is fired and it is no longer supported?

(b) If the right ball impacts the floor 95 cm from a plumb line held under its released position, how fast was it propelled horizontally off the platform?

(d) What was the right ball’s resultant impact velocity with the floor?

(e) What was the right ball’s angle of impact with the ground?

(f) Which ball (left or right) had the most total energy throughout its trajectory? Explain your reasoning.

Part II. The experiment is now repeated a second time using the same spring gun set at the same height. However, the billiard balls are now replaced by metal balls that are only half as massive, what would be the new range of the right-hand ball?