To See if the temperature of a squash ball and the height it is dropped from affects the height of the bounce and amount of energy used up.

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Investigation: To See if the temperature of a squash ball and the   height it is dropped from affects the height of the bounce and amount of energy used up.

Choice of Equipment:

    I have chosen to use a video camera to measure the bounce of the squash ball. A Meter ruler to measure the height the ball is to be dropped from and the height of the bounce. A heat proof mat, tripod stand, a beaker, a Bunsen burner and a thermometer to use as a water bath to heat the squash balls to set temperatures. I also need a clamp stand to hold the ruler vertical to improve the accuracy of my measurements. Precision scales to measure the mass of squash ball accurately. I will also need a constant surface to drop the ball onto to make the results fair. This is because if one time the ball drops onto a groove or a uneven surface more energy cud be wasted and the results wouldn’t be fair.

Preliminary Work:

    As I know from previous work that, potential energy lost is equal to kinetic energy gained I am able to measure the energy loss after the squash ball has bounced from varying heights and changing temperatures (of the ball). I can do this by measuring the potential energy the ball has at the height it is to be dropped from found by Mass x Gravity x height and then measure the amount of energy it has at the height it bounces to also found in the same way. I can look at this for different heights and temperatures, allowing me to see if temperature and height effects energy loss.

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   I have decided to use two variables temperature and height I will adjust both one at a time. 30 – 50 degrees will be the range for temperature and there will be intervals of 5 degrees meaning 5 different temperatures (as I found anything over 50 degrees may be dangerous to handle). The Range For height will be 60cm – 1m in intervals of 10cm meaning 5 different heights. I found this range appropriate as I found if I dropped it from a smaller height the bounce would be too small to measure accurately and these heights gave the ...

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