Mississippi Science PHS.5.6
The Standard
- PHS.5
- Students will analyze the scientific principles of motion, force, and work.
Use an engineering design process and mathematical analysis to design and construct models to demonstrate the law of conservation of momentum (e.g., roller coasters, bicycle helmets, bumper systems).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Newton’s Laws of Motion
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students build a bumper for two carts and test it in a collision. They measure each cart’s mass and velocity before and after impact. They calculate total momentum, including direction, and revise the bumper using their results.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student predicts how two carts will move after a collision and checks the prediction against measurements. They explain small differences in total momentum using friction or measurement error. They use trial data to make their bumper produce a more repeatable collision.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think momentum disappears when carts stick together. They may leave direction out of the calculation or assume that kinetic energy must stay the same whenever momentum does.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A 0.20 kg cart moving at 1.0 m/s hits a stationary 0.20 kg cart, and they stick. Calculate their shared speed and total momentum before and after impact.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build Velcro bumpers for two toy carts, film a collision, and calculate total momentum before and after from measured masses and speeds.
Ask pairs to explain how two carts can lose kinetic energy when they stick while keeping nearly the same total momentum.
Give groups sticking-collision cards with masses and signed velocities, then have them match each card to a calculated final velocity.
Give students a two-car crash report with vehicle masses and speeds, then have them check the reported postcrash speeds using momentum calculations.
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Printable PHS.5.6 Worksheet
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