Students are to perform an experiment to determine the acceleration due to gravity, g, in the lab by plotting data in a graph. The students have access to equipment commonly found in a high school physics laboratory, but the experiment must use the setup as shown above, which includes a dart of mass m1 and a block of mass M2 hanging from the ceiling by light strings with negligible mass. The dart is launched with a speed of v towards the block. Assume that the velocity of the dart is horizontal when it collides with the block.

Students are to perform an experiment to determine the acceleration due to gravity, g, in the lab by plotting data in a graph. The students have access to equipment commonly found in a high school physics laboratory, but the experiment must use the setup as shown above, which includes a dart of mass m1 and a block of mass M2 hanging from the ceiling by light strings with negligible mass. The dart is launched with a speed of v towards the block. Assume that the velocity of the dart is horizontal when it collides with the block.