The Bouncing Balls Experiment

year 8 science - energy the "bouncing balls" experiment

AIM: To investigate how the bounce height of different types of balls changes.

EQUIPMENT: 1 metre ruler 1 table tennis ball 1 tennis ball 1 golf ball

METHOD: 1. Find a clear space to work in. 2. Line up the top of the table tennis ball with the top of the metre ruler (i.e. the initial bounce height is 1 m). 3. Drop (not throw) the table tennis ball and record the height of the first, second and third bounce. You may not be able to get these all in the same drop - just do it again if you need to. Record the height from the top of the ball each time. 4. Repeat step 3 two more times in order to get an average bounce height. 5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 with the tennis ball and the golf ball. 6. Draw up a table similar to the one below to record your results in. You will need a separate table for each ball. Table Tennis Ball Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Initial height 1 m 1 m 1 m 1 m First bounce Second bounce Third bounce 7. Draw up a graph similar to the one below to represent your information. You will need a separate graph for each ball. Your graphs must be drawn on graph paper, be in lead pencil, and have a title and labelled axes.

Graph showing Bounce Heights of a Table Tennis Ball 1 ) s e r t

e 0.8 m (

h 0.6 g i e h 0.4 e c n u

o 0.2 B 0 0 1 2 3 Bounce Number

1 CONCLUSION: What have you found out from conducting this experiment? Comment on any differences in results you got between the three balls. Can you explain any differences? What has the initial potential energy of the ball been converted to?

DISCUSSION/ERRORS: Are there any likely inaccuracies/errors in your results? If you conducted this experiment again are there any improvements that could be made to make it more accurate?

EXTENSIONS: Are the results the same if the initial height is different (i.e. if the initial height is doubled, do the other bounce heights double also?)? Are the results the same if you drop the balls onto a different surface (i.e. carpet, wood, etc)?

Name: ______Due Date: ______

Group cooperation and practical skills ___ 5

Results tables ___ 3

Graphs ___ 6

Conclusion & Discussion/Errors ___ 3

Overall presentation & spelling, etc. ___ 3 TOTAL: ___ 20