Bouncing A Squash Ball Lab Report - Abhirath Singh

Apparatus:

1. Squash Ball with one yellow dot– 1
2. Tongs – 1
3. Electronic Thermometer (± 0.1oC) – 1
4. 500cm3 Beaker – 1
5. Meter Rule – 1 meter – 1
6. Electrical Stop Watch (± 0.1 seconds)
7. Electronic Water Heater – 1
8. Water – 1 liter

Variables: 

Constant – Time of ball in water, height from which the ball is dropped.

Independent – Temperature of water.

Dependent – Height of bounce.

Method:

1. Take an electrical kettle and heat water in it to 65oC (+ 1oC). Measure the temperature using the electronic thermometer to make sure it is 65oC.
2. Pour the water in a beaker, and place a thermometer in the beaker.
3. Place the squash ball in the beaker with water, making sure the whole ball stays submerged. This can be done by using the tongs.
4. As soon as you place the ball in the beaker, start the stop watch.
5. Make sure the temperature of the water is maintained, and the ball remains completely submerged.
6. While the ball is underwater, place a meter rule against a wall with its base touching the floor, and its numericals starting from the floor.
7. As soon as the stop watch indicates 2 minutes, use the tongs to remove the ball from the water and immediately place it at the top of the meter rule.
8. Let the squash ball fall from the top, with no force applied by one’s hand.
9. As the squash ball bounces on the ground, measure the height it bounces back by observing how high it bounces on the meter rule.
10. Note this value down in a table.
11. Now let the temperature of the water decrease by 10oC (+ 1oC).
12. Repeat steps 3 to 11 for temperatures 55 oC, 45 oC, 35 oC and 25 oC.
13. Repeat steps 1 to 12, 3 times.

Data Table:

Data Presentation:

Interpretation: This graph shows the relationship between the temperature of the ball and its bouncing capacity.

Analysis:
The graph shows the relationship between the temperature of the ball and its bouncing capacity. It shows that the bouncing capacity of the ball and its temperature are directly proportional. This means that as the temperature of the ball increases, so does its bouncing capacity. As the air inside the squash ball lets it lose its shape on impact, the ball does not bounce very high, as compared to ball made of different material. However, when the temperature of the ball is increased, the air inside gains more kinetic energy, causing the air particles to push the ball from the inside when there is an external force applied on the ball. This reduces the extent to which the ball loses its shape, causing the ball to bounce harder. The higher the pressure inside the ball, the lesser the deformation. This is why the bouncing capacity of a squash ball and its temperature are directly proportionate.

Conclusion:

My hypothesis that stated, “The bouncing capacity of the ball and its temperature are directly proportional. This means that as the temperature increases, so does the bouncing capacity of the ball”, was proven right. This is because, the higher the pressure inside the ball, the lesser its deformation. This means the higher the kinetic energy of the air inside the ball, the higher its bouncing capacity. Temperature being an aspect to increase the kinetic energy, cause the bouncing capacity of the ball to be directly proportionate to its temperature.

Errors and Modifications:

Errors:-

• The duration taken to transfer the ball from the beaker to the point where we dropped the ball should have been the same for each try at each temperature. This way, the amount of energy lost before dropping the ball would have been the same.
• At certain moments the ball might have not been completely submerged underwater.
• The reading of the height the ball bounced back was not accurate, as the highest point of the ball is maintained only for a fraction of a second.

Modifications:-

• The beaker with the ball could have been placed as close as possible to the wall where the meter rule was placed, in order to reduce the amount of time spent transferring the ball from the beaker to the meter rule.
• The time take to transfer the ball from the beaker to it dropping position could have been restricted to 5 seconds, in order to equalize the amount of energy lost by the squash ball.
• The ball could have been submerged underwater using to tongs, avoiding the possibility of the ball coming out of the water during the 2 minutes.