- Colour: The colour may affect the bounce of ball as certain colours attract more sunlight and the more light there is, the more heat there is and this would consequently change the pressure within the ball.
For my preliminary work I conducted a series of tests to work out the best variables to change for my experiment. I changed the height of the drop and measured the height of the bounce from the surface.
Set up the experiment as follows. Attach the metre ruler to the clamp to the boss which is attached to the stand. This will keep the ruler in place so the ball can be dropped straight and the ball will drop from the exact same height each time. The bounce height and the drop height will be measured from the bottom of the ball each time.
These are the results from the first experiment.
*Anomalous point that is out of range compared to the other the rest of the results. They are discarded or ignored so a better average is reached.
After this experiment I used a computer simulated program to predict different values and ranges of the ball drops. I used this so I can quickly try different variables and select the best experiments to try personally. The program had a built in random setting, however this was too widespread and the results had many anomalies and spread out results. This still gave me a rough idea of what height to try however and I planned my drops around it.
*Anomalous point
Next using the same computer program I changed the temperature and didn’t change the height. However, there was still the over-active randomness and the results are not entirely accurate. If I was to do this for real there shouldn’t be as much randomness in the results, however I do not have the facilities to do this in full.
*Anomalous point
After analysing my preliminary work I have decided I will vary the drops from 20cm to 100cm as shown for the computer simulated results. I had trouble trying to balance the two 1 metre rulers. The equipment was not staying accurate or in the same place. I therefore have chosen a appropriate range of drop heights. I will make sure all the drops are made in the same lesson so the temperature remains as close to the same as possible, therefore if the weather changes dramatically or something affects the temperature there will still be a constant pressure inside the ball.
My prediction for the final experiment that as the height increases so will the bounce of the ball the velocity increases too. The gravitational pull of 10m/s and the temperature will remain constant.
I will set up the experiment same as before on a smooth table. I will drop the ball from the desired height making sure the ball was dropped from exactly the same height each time. I will measure the bounce from the bottom of the ball each time, and bounce it from exactly the same height 3 times.
*Anomalous results
In conclusion my test supported my prediction and so I have discovered that the higher the ball is dropped from the higher the bounce will be. As long as the temperature remains the same this rules should apply. I feel that with more testing on temperature a better rule could be obtained.
The reliability of my work is good. All the results were obtained in the same lesson and all the points were reasonable well calculated and fitted in with the other results well.
I have been generally pleased with my results and the results were generally in a good pattern. The miscellaneous results were removed to give a good average.
If I had more time I would investigate more changes in variables to get a better range of results.
Ted Booty 10P1
