Cannon Mass - M
Marble
Mass m
Note: Figure not drawn to scale.
Students launch identical marbles of mass mm horizontally from a toy cannon of mass MC,
where Mc > mm, as shown above. The cannon can be adjusted to change the launch speed v of
the marble relative to the ground. Each time a marble is launched, the cannon slides backward
before coming to rest. The coefficient of kinetic friction between the cannon and the ground is u
(mu). For each launch, the students vary the launch speed v and record the distance x the cannon
slides backward for each launch speed.