Consider
STIGATION TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF
ENERGY ON CRATER SIZE
ABSTRACT
This lab investigates the relationship between the energy of a falling object and the effect that energy has on the size of the object’s crater. The experiment was conducted by dropping a marble into flour and observing the depth and diameter of the crater it created. The trend that was found was that as the height and therefore gravitational potential energy increased so did the diameter and depth of the crater. The findings showed that energy was directly proportionate to the depth and diameter and the formulas found could be applied to a more realistic situation.
INTRODUCTION
Planet earth is surrounded by millions of floating rocks all on different paths throughout our universe. Some of these paths may lead to a direct collision course with earth. Already our planet has witnessed the effects of a collision a prime example being the Barringer crater which was created when a meteorite hit earth with an impact energy release of over 500 times the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima (Gaylard, 2008). What would happen if one of these rocks hit earth again? The purpose of this experiment is to determine on a smaller scale how the energy of a meteoroid effects the diameter and depth of a crater.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A plastic bucket was filled with all purpose white flour halfway full and placed on the ground. A marble was then lifted to a height of 0.10m using a meter stick. The marble was then dropped into the bucket of flour and the diameter and depth of the crater were measured with a small ruler. This information was then recorded in a chart (see table 1). The marble was then lifted up 0.10m and dropped again until a height of 1m was reached. All the data was recorded on the table to be assessed. The formula for energy was used using the height (h), mass (m), and force of gravity (g) to find the energy (see Figure 1 for...
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