Collision Carts

DCS Code: 1N30.31 Last Updated: March 27, 2026
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Purpose

Demonstrates elastic and perfectly inelastic collisions using PASCO dynamics carts on a track. Magnetic bumpers produce near-perfect elastic collisions; Velcro surfaces produce perfectly inelastic collisions where the carts stick together.

Two PASCO dynamics carts (one blue, one red) on an aluminum dynamics track, set up on a demonstration table in front of a chalkboard
Figure 1: Two PASCO dynamics carts on the aluminum track. Each cart has magnetic bumpers on one end and Velcro on the other — flip them to switch between elastic and inelastic collisions.
Equipment