Mythbusters Lab

Our class recently embarked on a myth-busting adventure. Our goal was to try and disprove two myths, both of which appeared to be true. After testing each of these myths out with our self-created labs, my group discovered that these myths were, in fact, completely untrue!

Myth 1: An object always moves in the direction of the net force exerted on it.

If an object always moves in the direction of the net force exerted on it, and we roll a bowling ball across a level carpet surface with friction acting against the ball, then the bowling ball will continue to move in the same direction that it was originally traveling in.

For this experiment, we rolled a bowling ball across a carpet floor.




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If this myth were true, the bowling ball would've rolled in the direction of the net horizontal force acting on it: the force of friction. The force of friction is applying force to the left, yet the bowling ball continues to roll to the right. Therefore, this myth is false.

Myth 2: An object always changes its motion if there is a force exerted on it by other objects.

If an object always changes its motion if there is a force exerted on it by other objects and we swing a tennis ball into a bowling ball while in motion, the bowling ball's path/direction it is going in will not be affected.

Our procedure was as follows:
1. Suspend a tennis ball from the ceiling with a piece of string.
2. Hold the suspended tennis ball in the air.
3. Roll a bowling ball into the path of the suspended tennis ball.
4. Release the tennis ball from grasp, allowing it to swing directly into the oncoming bowling ball.







The applied force of the tennis ball, which moved to the left, was not strong enough to make an impact upon the motion of the bowling ball, which was moving to the right. This myth has been busted!

To conclude, our group busted both myths. Myth One appears believable because many people don't take into account that the object could be in motion and that the strength with which it was moving could be greater than the net force acting upon the object. Most people believe this myth because they only imagine objects at rest being impacted - for example, if someone were to push a resting pillow (PUN!) off of their bed, the pillow would move in the direction with which it was pushed. Myth Two is often believed because people assume that the object is going to be acted upon by a force greater than the object's original force. We disproved this statement by trying to impact a bowling ball's motion with a much-lighter tennis ball, which obviously failed. These myths? BUSTED.