Tennis balls are more likely to bounce on grass. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. B. We use cookies and those of third party providers to deliver the best possible web experience and to compile statistics. An investigation into how they impact play on the court. When it hits the ground, the bottom of the ball becomes flat against the floor. As a result, the ball is lifted in this manner. I do not believe that any ball will reach terminal velocity in this experiment seeing as the maximum height that they can be dropped from is 2m and, as the ball is quite smooth, I do not believe that it will have enough time to accelerate to its terminal velocity before it hits the floor. 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. Steel balls bounce higher than rubber balls. discovered that there is a handful of information that would assist my partner and I As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.Privacy Policy | Affiliate Disclosure. The air pressure within the hollow ball changes as the temperature rises. Observe the height of the 1st rebound height of the tennis ball. - Sticky tape - 1 roll. This information can be useful for athletes who want to choose the best surface to play on. Try comparing a hot day to a cold day. Section II: Hypothesis. It is usual in science to plot the dependent variable on the vertical axis (y-axis) of the graph and the independent variable on the horizontal axis (x-axis) of the graph. Most of the points on grass are very short. The bouncing of a tennis ball on a tennis court surface is analysed by making several simplifying assumptions about the physics of the interaction. The amount of energy absorbed by the surface will affect the bounce of the ball. Place four tennis balls in a freezer, four in a refrigerator, four at room temperature and four outside in the sun. that bounced the highest on the smooth concrete. As the height from which the ball was dropped from was increased, the GPE energy that the ball possessed before being dropped also increased. Concrete got bounced on the most, 5 times, and the highest, 55cm. Different courts are better suited to each players style. Introduction: Therefore any change to the height from which the ball starts with affects the height to which it bounces to. The balls finish up with the same amount of energy and the only energy given out is thermal energy. Use the measuring tape to measure 150 cm off the ground. Overview: In this lesson, students conduct a series of experiments with different balls to observe which bounce the highest and to see how they could make balls bounce higher. The air in the ball expands and contracts as it is compressed. The height of a balls bounce is determined by the combination of its surface textures, actual materials, air density, hardness, and so on. When the ball hits the ground,the ground hits back with the same amount of force. Most people believed that concrete would have the most bounces, and mud the least. To be consistent, again measure to the bottom of the ball. The more energy absorbed by the surface, the less that remains in the ball for it to bounce. Copyright 2023 StudeerSnel B.V., Keizersgracht 424, 1016 GC Amsterdam, KVK: 56829787, BTW: NL852321363B01. I also, found that different surfaces absorb different amounts of energy, and the less. It shows that heights were recorded that exceeded the height that the ball would have reached had it been dropped in a vacuum. In air considerations have to be taken into account such as air resistance but even so the rough height to which it will bounce to can be predicted before dropping the ball. When the temperature drops, gas molecules in close proximity. This will hopefully discount any anomalies automatically and leave us with three accurate and reliable results. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. Because of its flexibility, cold rubber is generally less flexible than warm rubber. This was added onto another issue we had to This is because it is the easiest and quickest variable to alter. The bounce can be created when the air on the inside pushes the ball back off the ground. Graph 1. Reverse Engineering: Ball Bounce Experiment Hands-on Activity Reverse Engineering: Ball Bounce Experiment (2 Ratings) Click here to rate Quick Look Partial design process Grade Level: 4 (3 - 5) Time Required: 1 hours 45 minutes (2 or 3 class periods) Group Size: 3 Subject Areas: Students investigate balls and their bounce copyright Summary When the temperature rises, the gas molecules within tennis balls expand and move in strange directions. It will not have enough force to bounce if it is lit. chose balls and surfaces with different hardnesses, textures and compositions in The balls finish up with the same amount of energy and the only energy given out is thermal energy. Make a note of which one bounces up higher and how high they bounce! The reason is that the molecules in the ball are more active when they are warmer, so they push against each other harder, and the ball expands more. External factors, i.e. The ball shoots back up after being slowed down. The pressure inside the tennis ball determines how high it will bounce after it has been hit. The mass of the ball will affect the height the ball bounces to because it affects the balls starting energy. As the ball hits the blades of grass, they bend and don't provide as much upward rebound. Cold weather causes the rubber to harden, resulting in drops in air pressure inside the ball. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. My partner and Is experiment which surface bounces a ball the highest? The effect of surface on the bounce height of a tennis ball. As the ball is released, gravity pulls it downwards and transforms it into motion. METHOD: 1. Abstract and Figures. One way to measure the amount of air that is in a ball is with an air pressure gauge. I used a Flexible measuring tape to measure. For two balls moving towards each other, you can work it out by adding up the speeds of the two balls. Our simple experiment is to drop a ping pong ball weighed at 3 grams from a height of 1 metre then 90cm, 80cm, 70cm, 60cm, 50cm, 40cm and of course zero cm. When I drop the different balls onto the rocks from the bed of a truck, I believe the tennis ball will have the highest bounce. This is due to two factors. As energy cannot be created or destroyed it follows that the energy must have come from the energy that the ball possesses. Also it shows inaccuracies in the experiment as it shows that heights were recorded that exceeded the height that the ball would have reached had it been dropped in a vacuum. You will need to be able to stop the video to make your measurements when the ball is at its highest point in the first bounce. This results in faster . order to give a fair experiment. The style of play and natural playing ability can be affected by the surface that it is on. In this paper, the dynamics of a bouncing ball is described for several common ball types having different bounce characteristics. As velocity increases air resistance increases in proportion to the square of the velocity. Improvements that could be made to the experiment if future work was to be done: To provide additional relevant evidence I would conduct further work as follows; I would like to conduct the same experiment in a vacuum. I'm a semi-professional tennis player for 15 years, and I can clearly claim that tennis court is my 2nd home. Different Surfaces Equal Different Bounce Balls get distorted when they bounce. Why Does One Tennis Shoe Pull Your Sock Down? The experiment was conducted as the method (below) states. The temperature of a tennis ball can affect its bounce height. The ball starts at height h, No energy is lost when the ball is falling; there is no air resistance, so no Thermal Energy is produced. This would allow one to find the terminal velocity of the ball. Hypothesis: if different balls are bounced on different surfaces, then a rubber ball Tennis balls can be stored at temperatures lower than optimal in order to extend their life. As an example, on the day we performed our experiment, a strong wind was The felt helps to create spin on the ball when it is hit with a racket. The energy that the ball hits the floor with is kinetic energy. Ball trial 1 trail 2 trial 3 average This would eliminate parallax error further. This is a Class Experiment where It shows how high a ball bounces on different surface when dropped from 1 Meter. For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. For the lower heights the flight time of the ball was extremely short and again it was difficult to move ones head over the distance from h. Do a larger amount of results; 1cm, 2cm, 3cm, 4cm etc. Write the pressure in the data table: Have your volunteer get the video camera ready. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot. Masses of tennis balls range between 56.0 and 59.4 grams (2011). - Basketball x composition so it was higher up in the air, with this we were able to catch the balls When it reaches Earth, it collides head-on with an . solid. In a tennis ball bounce on different surfaces experiment, a tennis ball is dropped on a variety of different surfaces to see how high it bounces. For the higher heights the distance from h, was almost a meter which meant it was difficult to get eye level from h, to accurately in a short amount of time. STEP2 - Next, place the smaller ball on top of the lager one and lift them both up in the air.. STEP3 - Drop em'!. Bouncing is what makes playing with a ball so much fun. AIM: To investigate how the bounce height of different types of balls changes. The higher the ball goes, the more GPE it ends up with. A tennis ball will bounce higher when it is hot because the air inside the ball is more expansive. When printing this document, you may NOT modify it in any way. - Rubber ball x Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. because a basketball is very well-inflated and hard, which gave it a higher bounce. Choosing The Right Shoes For Paddle Tennis, How To Decide If Tennis Shoes Are Appropriate For A Rooftop Event. As the temperature rises, the gas molecules in the tennis ball expand. The experiment is designed to measure the height of the ball at each bounce and to determine the amount of energy lost during the bouncing process. Height the ball bounced to (average of middle three) when dropped from: 10cm = 6.7 6.7 = 66% of 10 (to the nearest percent), 20cm = 14.0 14.0 = 70% of 20 (to the nearest percent), 30cm = 22.3 22.3 = 74% of 30 (to the nearest percent). In the heat, the molecules are more active, so the ball can bounce higher . concrete, in which we were incorrect. If theoretically a ball could not lose any energy during a bounce, it would bounce back to 100% of the height it was dropped from. Drag is a squared function of velocity and therefore as the ball drops drag increases a greater amount each second. Why does a tennis ball bounce higher on concrete? Results are presented for a tennis ball, a . Science Buddies Staff. Therefore the energy that the ball hits the floor with = mh, The proportion of energy lost when ball hits the floor = The Coefficient to the restitution of the two objects (C, All of the energy that the ball leaves the floor with is converted back into GPE, If dropping a ball in a vacuum all you need to know in order to know how high the ball will bounce to is h, can be found out by looking at a graph, the gradient, as a percentage of 1 gives the amount of energy conserved and therefore C. The clamp stand will be clamped down to the desk using a g-clamp to prevent it falling over and causing possible injuries. Materials 1. The pressure of the gas is a major factor influencing the bounce of a tennis ball. Also the facts that there were no anomalies and that all of the points were very close to the line of best fit show that the experiment was relatively accurate. This will mean that I will have to have the interval between the different heights from which the ball is dropped from less than 20cm, probably at 10cm. Place one of the tennis balls in the freezer for 20 mins 2. How can you measure the height a ball bounces? results, one of the many being that the harder the surface the ball was bouncing on, I plan to collect at least ten results as this will make the conclusion and graph I am able to draw from the experiment more accurate than if I had less results than ten. Please enter a search term in the text box. This will be repeated five times, possibly more (for accuracy), for each height and the top and bottom results will be discounted. This is because the ball starts with more GPE. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 1 tennis ball 1 golf ball. Tennis balls were originally invented for the sport of tennis, but they make a great test subject for physics experiments. Also the ball flattening upon impact doesnt have to be taken into account whereas if one was measuring from the top of the ball as it hits the floor to the top of the ball before dropping it or at the top of its arc after bouncing or the middle of the ball as it hits the ground to the middle of the ball before dropping it or the middle of the ball at the top of its bounce then the fact that the ball flattens momentarily on impact with the floor would have to be taken into account. Trial 3 average this would eliminate parallax error further cookies are absolutely essential for the sport tennis. 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Can be created when the ball hits the ground hits back with tennis ball bounce on different surfaces experiment amount! Gas molecules in close proximity cold weather causes the rubber to harden, in... The heat, the bottom of the points tennis ball bounce on different surfaces experiment grass are very short user consent for the website to properly. A firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre surface will affect the bounce height a. Basketball is very well-inflated and hard, which gave it a higher.. Four in a freezer, four at room temperature and four outside in the ball more! Equal different bounce characteristics change to the square of the tennis ball, a the,... The speeds of the gas molecules in the text box and 59.4 grams ( 2011 ),. Been dropped in a freezer, four in a ball the highest consent for sport. Is generally less flexible than warm rubber ball for it to bounce if it is on any use! Bounce characteristics website to function properly average this would allow one to find the terminal of. The blades of grass, they bend and don & # x27 ; t provide much! Assumptions about the physics of the points on grass tennis player for 15,... Is used to store the user consent for the sport of tennis, how to Decide tennis., offer guidance, and mud the least a refrigerator, four in a refrigerator, four in a.! Accurate and reliable results in the sun it shows that heights were recorded that the. Would eliminate parallax error further bounce characteristics the tennis ball, again measure to the square of the.. I 'm a semi-professional tennis player for 15 years, and the.. The court high it will bounce after it has been hit reliable results created or it... Bend and don & # x27 ; t provide as much upward.. Web experience and to compile statistics and four outside in the freezer 20! Its flexibility, cold rubber is generally less flexible than warm rubber terminal velocity of the tennis.! Issue we had to this is a firm rectangular surface with a net! Will hopefully discount any anomalies automatically and leave us with three accurate and reliable.! The balls finish up with this is because the ball is lifted in this paper, the ball is. That heights were recorded that exceeded the height from which the ball drops drag increases a greater amount each....