I also predict that if the dropping height is double, I expect the rebound height to be double.
Equipment:
- Tennis ball
- basket ball
- meter ruler
- Clamp stand
- 5 different surfaces
Factors that will affect the rebound height:
. The rebound height of the ball depends on the following factors:
1. The height from which it is dropped.
2. The surface at which it is failing.
3. Air resistance faced by the ball.
4. Temperature of the ball
I am going to investigate the height from which the tennis ball is dropped.
Plan:
If I drop a ball from a height of one meter the gravitational potential energy is changed to kinetic energy of the tennis ball.
The ball is losing gravitational potential energy and gaining kinetic energy when the ball hits the surface some of its kinetic energy is lost through sound and heat. This is because of the initial velocity of the ball is less when the velocity at which the ball hits the ground and consequently the height gained after rebound will be less.
The loss of kinetic energy by hitting the surface is also dependable on the surface itself. On a hard surface, the tennis ball will lose less kinetic energy and such it would bounce a higher height.
A soft surface will absorb more kinetic energy and bouncing would be less.
Method:
1. Set up all equipment as shown in the diagram.
2. I am going to drop a ball and see when it rebounds how high it goes.
3. Measure the height this will be dropping height.
4. Allow the ball to drop and measure the rebound height.
5. Double check readings, by doing the experiment again.
6. When it rebounds, I am going to be at eye level with top of the ball so I can get an exact measurement.
7. Repeat experiment three times.
8. Record dropping height and rebound height on a results table.
9. Repeat 3 to 8 from different dropping heights.
10. Use six different dropping heights.
Fair test:
- To make this test fair I will make sure that I use the same part of the ball to measure the height from (the top).
- Make sure that it bounces on the same surface each time.
- Double check rulers are straight and touch the floor.
Results table:
This shows that the higher the dropping height, more energy is lost through sound and heat when the tennis ball strikes the floor. This energy loss can be reduced by using hard and smooth floors.
Evaluation:
I think that the trend used was suitable as we just I a ruler to measure the bouncing height. It is very difficult to measure accurate bouncing height of the ball caused by eye level. We ght not actually have been measuring the bouncing height from the place we intended. However, this should not have affected my results too much.
The results I have recorded were accurate, although I had one odd result. This may be due to taking the wrong readings of the bouncing heights.
To make my experiment more accurate, I could have used a sensor to measure the bouncing height of the tennis ball and repeat the experiment three times and found an average. I don't think I could really improve on the way (the plan or method) the experiment was performed because my results were quite accurate. I also found that the experiment was quite easy to set up as it was simple and not complicated.
Further experiments I could do to see the effect of bouncing height of a tennis ball would be to whether the following factors would make a difference in the bouncing height.
The surface on which the ball is dropped: I think the bouncing height would increase if the tennis ball is dropped on a hard surface.
By Kane Falcao 10gre
