Hypothesis If I increase the height from which a ball is dropped then the bounce height will increase because it will increase the speed and create a larger impact causing the ball to bounce higher then dropping it from a lower height. Removing the maximum and minimum results and taking an average of the middle three results also provided more accurate results. Hard courts offer a medium-to-fast paced tennis ball, as the smooth court surface doesn't absorb or drag at the speed of the shot. Parallax error will be avoided by dropping the ball one time that will not be measured and placing a blob of blue tack onto the meter rule at the approximate height it bounced to. 3. A tennis balls trajectory is determined by its temperature. The Cold Group (-15C) averaged 53.5 cm, the Cool Group (6C) averaged 98.5 cm, the Room Temperature Group (46C) averaged 114.5 cm, the Warm Group (100C) averaged 136.5 cm, and the Hot Group (142.5 cm) averaged 142.5 cm It was determined to be correct to my hypothesis. h1and h2are from the bottom of the ball as it hits the floor to the bottom of the ball at the top of its arc after bouncing. Use a uniform surface to drop the ball onto. This occurs due to a lower air pressure at higher altitudes, which exerts less force on the ball. The ball did not appear to reach its terminal velocity which also supports my prediction. Try your bounce test in different weather conditions. The pressure on the ball is created by the air pushing against it. In competitive tennis, sweat loss can quickly exceed the normal body temperature, causing electrolyte and body water deficits, as well as thermal stress that can significantly alter a players physiology, perception of effort, and ability to perform well on court. On the cardboard, mark the starting point, the point where the marble strikes the wood, and a point along the marble's path as it rolls away from the wood. Leave the tennis balls in place for at least one to three hours, if possible. Instead, as the ball is still always loosing GPE so long as it is still falling, all GPE is converted into thermal energy. For a falling object the Coefficient to restitution (C, ) is equal to the velocity squared as the object is travelling at as it leaves the floor (v, ) divided by the velocity squared as it hits the floor (v, If a ball is dropped in a vacuum. The air in the ball expands and contracts as it is compressed. Science Buddies Staff. This therefore provides accurate and reliable results. Not The force of the ball hitting the ground causes it to bounce up, because it puts an equal force on the ball. was proven correct after our experiment. This would mean that one could re-examine the height to which it bounced to and find it exactly instead of having to make a split second judgement which is not half as accurate. "Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces.". "That's The Way The Ball Bounces," The Exploratorium Museum, San Francisco, CA. Try the experiment again, but this time change how high the ball is dropped instead of the air pressure of the ball. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The bounce should be between 53 and 58 inches. - Basketball x This means that not all the GPE is converted into KE as it would have been if the ball had been dropped in a vacuum. Equipment/materials used: The balls bounced higher on the concrete The bouncing of a tennis ball on a tennis court surface is analysed by making several simplifying assumptions about the physics of the interaction. Drag is a squared function of velocity and therefore as the ball drops drag increases a greater amount each second. This experiment would provide me with more results that are relevant to the experiment that I have already conducted. All rights reserved. Fully pump up the basketball and check the pressure with the pressure gauge. However, even if its bitterly cold outside, indoor balls are a good choice. Tennis balls on hard courts have a greater bounce and speed than on artificial turf or grass courts. Belowis the graph of h1against h2. An increase in h1, assuming g and m stay constant, results in an increase in m g h1 which results in an increase in GPE. As the ball flattening upon impact with the floor is not visible as it happens so quickly it would be almost impossible to measure the size of the ball on impact with the floor. the "bouncing balls" experiment. Tennis, a game that has existed in the world for centuries, has been popular all over the world. High bounce ball 2. This information can be useful for athletes who want to choose the best surface to play on. With this information, we Experiment Click the following buttons to skip to a page. C. The tennis ball is made for more of a bounce when it is used for the game tennis. The combination of the material properties of a ball (surface textures, actual materials, amount of air, hardness/ softness, and so on) affects the height of its bounce. This experiment requires a ball that will bounce and a meter stick or other measuring device. Method:The apparatus will be set up as shown: H is the height of the ball before it is dropped. - Pencil x h2= The distance between the bottom of the ball at the top of its arc after bouncing and the ground. As there is more GPE more energy is converted into KE (The ball is going faster, KE=1/2mv. The children were oblivious to these . present. This is due to two factors. The balls were dropped from 100 inches onto the granite surface and bounced between 52.93 and 58.43 inches. An investigation into how they impact play on the court. It would also be fun to explore the effect of different surfaces on the bounce of the bouncy ball. In this experiment you will use a ball filled with air. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. To be consistent, again measure to the bottom of the ball. B. This means that we can approximately calculate the amount of energy that the ball conserves as it hits the floor and therefore the height to which it will bounce for any given height in a vacuum. = The distance between the bottom of the ball at the top of its arc after bouncing and the ground. Carpet2. Use the pencil and ruler to connect the incoming and outgoing trajectories of the marble to the point where the marble bounced off the wood. Keep your balls warm in order to get the best bounce possible. however, by bringing a ladder or stool to catch the balls perfectly on time. The tennis balls bounce in different ways. Conclusion: The impact duration was between 65 and 71 ms. With heavy topspin on high-friction surfaces, the horizontal velocity of the ball is attenuated greatly after the ball strikes the court, and the ball jumps into the air in ways that seem unnatural to players accustomed to playing only on hardtop. ball bounced 6 inches. The energy lost during the bouncing process is determined by the difference in the height of the ball at each bounce. Therefore any change to the weight of the ball will affect the energy the ball has initially, which, as previously stated, affects the height to which the ball bounces. Gather 15 to 20 tennis balls and a measuring tape. Note whether the ball and surface showed more of an elastic or inelastic collision. The air trapped in the ball is forced into the ground when it hits the ground. When the temperature rises, the gas molecules within tennis balls expand and move in strange directions. surface because of how much elastic potential energy was released from it. Do different kinds of balls bounce differently? If you are looking for a challenging sport, tennis is an excellent choice for the winter months. Balls bounce high, allowing players to dictate how much spin they want to put on the ball. The Racquet Sports Industry's website states that, like human fingerprints, no two balls seem to be alike, and each has slightly different bouncing ability. STEP4 - Watch as the smaller ball flies off into the air! The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. If the elastic potential energy is the same then the same amount of energy is converted back into KE and so the balls leave the floor at the same speed. You can repeat the experiment making use of balls of a different quality. For the higher heights the distance from h1 to h2 was almost a meter which meant it was difficult to get eye level from h1 to h2 to accurately in a short amount of time. was blowing in, so that if the balls were blown away, they would come straight to The harder the court surface is, the higher the rebounded ball will be. There are many other great ball projects in this fun book by Madeline P. Goodstein. Observe the height of the 1st rebound height of the tennis ball. The average variation between results was 3cm. This will hopefully discount any anomalies automatically and leave us with three accurate and reliable results. This causes thermal energy to be given off. Once the drag force equals the gravitational force all forces are equal and acceleration stops. Copyright 2023 StudeerSnel B.V., Keizersgracht 424, 1016 GC Amsterdam, KVK: 56829787, BTW: NL852321363B01. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Record the new pressure reading in your data table and repeat steps 4 and 5. Therefore the height that it reaches is less high. Air is pumped into the ball and causes it to bounce. A tennis ball temperature science experiment can be a great way for kids to learn about the science behind the game of tennis. Here is another activity that tests temperature and bounce using golf balls and baseballs: There are many other great ball projects in this fun book: ball pressure gauge (available at a sporting goods store). Line up the top of the table tennis ball with the top of the metre ruler (i.e. Place the video camera on a level that will be able to clearly record the experiment, whilst a person sits beside the tape measurer 4. Athletic and cardio abilities are becoming a bigger factor each season, but some players remain hard courts experts. The bounce of a cold superball is shorter than that of a warm superball. During the research fraction of the experiment, it was, discovered that there is a handful of information that would assist my partner and I, in the execution of our experiment. To a wider range of results i.e. The ball moves upwards, reaching stage 1, i.e., maximum height, and its velocity is momentarily zero. 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