Do you have specific questions about your science project? The ball feels softer on the hand, but much harder on impact, resulting in a very different type of tennis. 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. This will be repeated five times, possibly more (for accuracy), for each height and the top and bottom results will be discounted. Air density will not change enough to affect the flight of the ball seeing as all the results will be collected during a brief period on one day. It shows that heights were recorded that exceeded the height that the ball would have reached had it been dropped in a vacuum. quicker and on time before they dropped back down. highest on hard, smooth surfaces. Try bouncing different kinds of balls to test this question. This is correct unless the ball shows signs of reaching terminal velocity. This means that the higher h. will differ from the height that the ball would have reached had it been dropped in a vacuum. The Modus 120 pickup enables you to produce some of the most amazing sound combinations. Vacuum pump, rigid plastic cylinder, two large rubber bungs to fit over the two ends of the plastic cylinder, table tennis ball, Two meter stick rulers. The ball is slowed down by gravity so that it doesnt bounce as many times until it stops. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. In this paper, the dynamics of a bouncing ball is described for several common ball types having different bounce characteristics. Tiles3. Why Does One Tennis Shoe Pull Your Sock Down? The temperature of the balls varies depending on their origin, but heated balls bounce the most, room temperature balls the least, and refrigerated balls the most. Gravel got bounced on the least, 1 time . Why do golf balls bounce so high on concrete? It was difficult to get down to the exact level of the blue tack seeing as it meant lowering your entire upper body in the short amount of time taken for the ball to hit the floor and rebound again to get your eye level from h1 to h2 (where the blue tack was stuck, approximately). It is important to let the ball fall out of your hands, and not to push it down with your hands, wrists, or arms. Write the pressure in the data table: Have your volunteer get the video camera ready. h1will start at 2m and then move down in intervals of 10cm to 10cm. an incorrect and unreliable result. Although catching small balls was an issue, we solved it by getting our better Record the new pressure reading in your data table and repeat steps 4 and 5. The experiment was conducted well however as the utmost efforts were brought into place to avoid parallax error and it was ensured as far as possible that factors that affected how high the ball bounced, excluding the height, were kept constant throughout the experiment. h1 = The distance between the bottom of the ball before it is dropped and the ground. Why a ball bounces: The ball's energy is matched by the ground it hits. Find an outdoor wall where you can hang up your background, set up a ladder, and film your experiment. would bounce the highest on a hard, smooth concrete surface because a rubber ball Two different types of balls, Penn Championship and Non-Championship will be compared. As velocity increases air resistance increases in proportion to the square of the velocity. Once the drag force equals the gravitational force all forces are equal and acceleration stops. 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. Belowis the graph of h1against h2. For the lowest three points air resistance is approximately equal to zero due to the ball having a low velocity, as it was dropped from a low height, and therefore hits less air particles per second than a ball traveling at a faster speed. Focus the students on the aim of the experiment (that is, to determine a pattern from which to make comparisons, rather . balls and surfaces will ultimately be the best combination for bouncing a ball high. Length of Lesson: 30 - 45 minutes. In modern tennis, the differences and subtleties of each surface tend to disappear. This would allow one to find the terminal velocity of the ball. The experiment was conducted as the method (below) states. Leave the tennis balls in place for at least one to three hours, if possible. Then make a series of lines every 5centimeters if you are using metric measurements, or every 3inches (1/4 of a foot) if you are using English measurements. As for catching the balls on time, we changed our hand positioning and 15 inches, and the golf ball bounced 26 inches. Observe the height of the 1st rebound height of the tennis ball. Some of the balls energy can be converted into heat. We could have improved this Temperature can change the internal pressure of a tennis ball, which causes it to feel hotter. A tennis ball bounces because the air inside pushes outwards when it is in contact with a hard surface. This means that if a heavier ball is to be used then it will need to be dropped from higher to reach its terminal velocity. I used a Flexible measuring tape to measure. This is due to two factors. As the ball has less KE and is travelling slower it becomes stationary faster at the top of its arc. bounces the highest on smooth concrete. Repeat the process three times with the same ball and record results. This would allow the actual coefficient to restitution to be calculated. From dropping the ball we can see how high the ball will bounce to after having a loss or gain of energydue to sound or movement of the ball as it hits a hard surface. A glass ball will bounce higher than a rubber ball if it doesnt break. faced. Hypothesis. Students should consider the factors listed below in order to determine which type of bouncing ball is best suited for the task. When the ball is pulled toward the ground, gravity slows it down so that it doesn't bounce as many times. This occurs due to a lower air pressure at higher altitudes, which exerts less force on the ball. The ball showed signs of reaching terminal velocity because the drag force began to approach the force gravity exerts upon the mass of the ball. The more energy absorbed by the surface, the less that remains in the ball for it to bounce. Balls are not round. "Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces.". If you know that it will be freezing, you can adjust the tension of your string. Tennis balls should ideally be kept at temperatures greater than 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius. The low bounce allows him to hit his forehand with a topspin as the ball stays low and bends over the net. The ball gains energy of motion, known as kinetic energy. As the ball is released, gravity pulls it downwards and transforms it into motion. As the temperature rises, the gas molecules in the tennis ball expand. Calculating the coefficient to restitution of ball hitting the floor: The coefficient to restitution can be found out from a graph of h1against h2. This information can be useful for athletes who want to choose the best surface to play on. The tennis ball was then dropped from various heights; 1, 1.5 and 2 meters above a hard surface, using a meter ruler, before it was dropped onto the ground and the resulting bounce height measured. This means that the faster that the ball travels the larger the force of air resistance upon it. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Also the difference between the force of air resistance acting upon a ball travelling at 1ms, and the force of air resistance acting upon a ball travelling at 2ms, is far smaller than the difference between the force of air resistance acting upon a ball travelling at 20ms, and the force of air resistance acting upon a ball travelling at 21ms, , the faster the velocity that the ball reaches. Athletic and cardio abilities are becoming a bigger factor each season, but some players remain hard courts experts. H is the height of the ball before it is dropped. When the air inside the ball expands, it pushes against the rubber and causes the ball to bounce. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. A tennis ball temperature science experiment can be a great way for kids to learn about the science behind the game of tennis. Because of this, a fully inflated ball may look deflated if the temperature drops quickly. and tries to catch the balls on time. If you're playing under 68 degrees, it's a good idea to make sure the ball doesn't bounce too much. What affects ball bounce? As drag is a squared function, proportional to the square of the velocity, it is impossible to calculate the velocity that the ball hits the floor at. Therefore the ball goes higher. The felt helps to create spin on the ball when it is hit with a racket. will start at 2m and then move down in intervals of 10cm to 10cm. Repeat steps 1-6 with the different balls. The same square of tiling will be used throughout the experiment so that inconsistencies between different floor tiles do not affect results. The effect of surface on the bounce height of a tennis ball. Which surface bounces a ball the highest? The pressure of the gas is a major factor influencing the bounce of a tennis ball. Air pressure will affect the balls fall slightly as the concentration of air particles per cubic meter varies with air pressure. hypothesis, we predicted that a rubber ball would bounce the highest on rough The variation between results was obtained by taking the minimum result away from the maximum result. carpet, tennis 57 cm 56 cm 61 cm 58 cm Instead, as the ball is still always loosing GPE so long as it is still falling, all GPE is converted into thermal energy. Please enter a search term in the text box. This is why you should have seen that when you bounced the basketball on a relatively hard surface it bounced higher (it lost less energy) compared with when it was bounced on a softer surface . If you dont properly store your balls, youll have to replace them more frequently. Five repeats were done as it was deemed that an average of the middle three was reasonably accurate. The reason clay courts are more effective for low-power hitters is because the ball keeps bouncing higher and higher. When the ball deforms, its molecules are stretched apart in some places and squeezed together in others. An alternative method would be the measuring person holding a video camera level with the approximate height that the ball reaches after bouncing and videoing the ball reach the top of its arc. Does it slope up or down? - Four surfaces (carpet, rough concrete, dirt and smooth concrete). For any other use, please contact Science Buddies. Why do balls bounce higher on different surfaces? Place the tape measurer against the edge of a wall using the bluetack 3. Therefore the height the ball bounces will be proportional to the height that the ball is dropped from up to a certain point, where the ball begins to show signs of reaching its terminal velocity before it reaches the ground. As CR = h2/ h1it follows the gradient of the graph change in h2/ change in h1= CR. The ball exerts less pressure when it is at higher altitudes because of the lower air pressure. the concrete surface is the hardest surface, it allowed more energy to be released The pressure inside the tennis ball determines how high it will bounce after it has been hit. h2= The distance between the bottom of the ball at the top of its arc after bouncing and the ground. The strength of Nadals forehand is what makes him so good on clay. Our team of volunteer scientists can help. My partner and Is experiment which surface bounces a ball the highest? 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. What material makes a ball bounce higher? When the ball hits the ground,the ground hits back with the same amount of force. Removing the maximum and minimum results and taking an average of the middle three results also provided more accurate results. are 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. If you were to see a ball drop to the ground in slow motion, you would see its shape change dramatically. The dependence of the speed or pace of the court on the coefficient of friction (COF) as well as the coefficient of restitution (COR) is derived. What factors affect the bounce height of a ball? There is a chance that you will bounce. The balls dropped from 75 centimeters will bounce higher than those dropped from 50 centimeters, and the balls in the 50 centimeter trials will bounce higher than those in the 25 centimeter trials. Bouncing Ball Investigation This is an experiment to investigate bouncing balls and how they behave in different situations. catcher to catch the balls. Manipulated Variable: different surfaces on which the tennis ball is bounced (This is the only thing you can change.) The pressure on the ball is created by the air pushing against it. Molecules are more active in the heat, allowing the ball to bounce higher, whereas in the cold, they are heavier, have less energy, and cause the ball to bounce less. Ball trial 1 trail 2 trial 3 average present. Also the mass of the ball affects the chances of the ball reaching its terminal velocity. The colder, the lower the ball bounces, and vice versa. Does the weather make a difference? KE = 1/2mv where m = mass and v = velocity, 1/2mv = mhg - thermal energy (lost as a result of drag). Therefore the height that it reaches is less high. Averages are more reliable than using one result as they take into account variation between results. For instance, you can use old balls for the second round of the experiment compared to new balls. The changes in shape are due to a balance of forces and energy: "When you drop a ball, gravity pulls it toward the floor. This experiment requires a ball that will bounce and a meter stick or other measuring device. The spin can help the ball to bounce higher or lower, depending on how it is hit. In this experiment you will use a ball filled with air. This experiment would provide me with more results that are relevant to the experiment that I have already conducted. Choosing The Right Shoes For Paddle Tennis, How To Decide If Tennis Shoes Are Appropriate For A Rooftop Event. Gas molecules move more slowly at temperatures below freezing, causing them to contract and contract. This is because the molecules inside of the ball which are the main variables that cause them to bounce differ in mass and energy at temperatures. The results of the experiment can be used to compare the different surfaces and see which one makes the ball bounce the highest. The balls finish up with the same amount of energy and the only energy given out is thermal energy. = The distance between the bottom of the ball before it is dropped and the ground. For a falling object the Coefficient to restitution (CR) is equal to the velocity squared as the object is travelling at as it leaves the floor (v22) divided by the velocity squared as it hits the floor (v12): If dropping a ball in a vacuum all you need to know in order to know how high the ball will bounce to is h1 and CR. The tennis balls bounce in different ways. 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