Investigating How the Height From Which a Table Tennis Ball is Dropped Affects Its Bounce
When a table tennis ball is dropped onto a surface it bounces. The
height of the bounce depends upon a number of factors; the pressure of
the air in the ball, the height from which it is dropped, its
material, mass and its temperature; the type of floor surface, its
temperature and its angle; and the acceleration due to gravity, the
temperature and the air resistance of the air that the ball will pass
through. In this experiment I will investigate the way in which the
height from which it is dropped affects the bounce of a table tennis
ball.
Planning
Objects that fall vertically, without air resistance, all have the
same acceleration at ground level on Earth, which is 9.80665m/s2. When
the air resistance force on a free-falling object is equal to the pull
of gravity, the object will reach its terminal velocity, i.e. it
cannot fall any faster. According to Newton's Second Law, mg - F = ma
(in this case, the resultant falling force of the ball minus the air
resistance force is equal to the mass of the ball multiplied by its
acceleration). The mass of the ball (m) will remain constant. As the
air resistance force (F) increases to the resultant force (mg), the
acceleration of the ball (a) decreases to nothing, so the ball
continues at its previous velocity without accelerating. Above a
certain height, therefore, I do not believe that the height from which
it is dropped will affect the height of a ball's bounce. However,
below this height, where the kinetic energy carried into impact will
vary between different drop heights, I believe the bounce height will
also vary.
As an object on Earth is dropped and bounces, the energy of that
object will undergo a series of transfers. It begins with
gravitational potential energy which is continually transferred to
kinetic energy as it accelerates towards the ground. Some energy is
lost in the ball's flight downwards and upwards due to air resistance
Dropper Poppers are rubber toys that resemble half a rubber ball and are shaped as hemispheres. They are turned upside-down (or inside-out), left on a flat surface, and after approximately 5 seconds, the dropper popper flies upwards, going higher than its original position. Simply put, the rubber needs to return to its original position, and creates a high surface tension. The rubber’s urge to return to its original position also causes instability within the structure of the dropper popper. When you drop the toy onto a flat surface, the inverted part pops back out, slams into the surface, and causes the toy to bounce into the air. This is a very basic explanation of what causes the dropper popper to act the way it does, and the physics principles
same as it was when the ball was first dropped as there is energy loss
For years it was thought that the golf swing was a solid piece of movement without any differentiating variables. Vast expansion in technology over the last 20 years has produced more information on the biomechanics of the golf swing. “ Golf Biomechanics applies the principles and technique of golf mechanics to the structure and function of the golfer in an effort to improve the golf technique and performance” (Hume P., Keogh J., and Reid D. 2005) Biomechanics, “The scientific discipline that applies mechanical principles and to understanding movement.” (Hume P., Keogh J., and Reid D. 2005) allows scientists to observe a golfer’s swing to near milliseconds to the point of impact. This is much more precise to previous measurements used such as video recordings, outlines, etc. Understanding how the swing works by breaking down the movements within the swing through visual aids emphasize the opportunity for a better swing and in turn, better golf. Studies of biomechanics within the golf swing have shown the sequential separation from torso to pelvis, disproving the original theory of a solid swing with continuous motion known as the X-factor. Before understanding how the biomechanics of the golf swing works with the X-factor, the basics of the swing must be established.
Baseball is a fascinating sport that is exceptionally fun to play. This assignment is all about understanding the physics of a few key aspects of this sport. One might ask what physics could have to do with baseball? Like most sports baseball involves physical motion. Baseball encompasses all three planes of motion through throwing, hitting, and fielding. All of the classical laws of mechanics can be applied to understand the physics of this game.
So when you bounce a basketball it comes back up to your hand. But if you don’t touch it the ball will bounce again, this time it wouldn’t bounce as high, why is this? Scientist have studied and found out that the gravitational force of the earth makes the ball lose energy. This makes the ball bounce less and less each bounce. Some scientists say that the ba...
height of the ping-pong ball in a table of results. I will also make a
Lift or curve in the motion of an object through air is a phenomena that is noticeable in a ball traveling through fluid/air. This change in direction is due to the effect that spin has on the object in motion. This can be explained by Bernoulli's Principle. Bernoulli, a 1700's physicist and mathematician, showed that the speed of an object through liquid/air changes the pressure of the air. The velocity of a spinning ball relative to the air is different from one side to the other creating a low pressure on one side and a high pressure on the other. This causes the ball to move in the direction of the lower pressure. The golf ball is typically hit with an undercut causing a reverse rotation and therefore a lifting action on the ball.
When the ball is dropped, the height decreases, and therefore so does the gravitational potential energy of the atom. At the same time, the velocity of the ball increases due to gravity, and therefore the kinetic energy. increases, as kinetic energy half the mass of the object (in this case). the falling ball) multiplied by velocity squared (Source: Physics for Your GCSE textbook). When the ball hits the floor the kinetic energy goes into deforming the ball from its original round shape to a squashed, oval in shape.
The motion of a falling object can be described by Newton's second law of motion, Force = mass x acceleration. Do a little algebra and solve for the acceleration of the object in terms of the net external force and the mass of the object (acceleration = Force / mass). The net external force is equal to the difference between the weight and the drag forces (Force = Weight - Drag). The acceleration of the object then becomes acceleration = (Weight - Drag) / mass. The drag force depends on the square of the velocity. So as the body accelerates, its velocity (and the drag) will increase. It will reach a point where the drag is exactly equal to the weight. When drag is equal to weight, there is no net external force on the object, and the acceleration will become equal to zero. The object will then fall at a constant velocity as described by Newton's first law of motion. The constant velocity is called the terminal velocity.
There are many aspects of physics found on the floor. The gymnast performs on a floor that "measures 12 x 12 meters, with an additional safety border of 1 metre. The performance area must have a surface elasticity, to allow for power during take-off and softness for landing." (FIG) The surface elasticity found in the floor mat gives the gymnast extra bounce which increases her momentum.
Investigating the Bounce of a Squash Ball This investigation is associated with the bounce of a squash ball. I will be investigating 4 different types of squash balls, which have different, bounce properties and compare them to each other and relate them to why each different type of squash ball is used. The relationship will be associated with how different balls are used at different levels of proficiency in the game of squash i.e. the squash balls that don't bounce much will probably used at a less proficient level whereas the balls with the most bounce will be used at professional level. The different coloured squash balls I will be using are; white, yellow, red and blue, and I will be finding out what the difference is between them.
When you drop a basketball, or any ball in general, it bounces back up. But how high does it bounce? If there is no other outside force acting on the ball such as a hand pushing down on the ball, the ball’s bounce will decrease each time it bounces until it eventually stops bouncing. The way the ball bounces is due to momentum and energy. Each time the ball bounces, it seems to lose energy because the height decreases by each bounce. However, the energy is not really lost, but rather transferred or changed. A bouncing ball has two main types of energy: kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has due to its motion. Every moving object has kinetic energy. Potential energy is the energy stored in an object due to its position. The higher the object, the more potential energy it has. Each time the ball bounces, the ground absorbs some of its energy, which is why different surfaces cause the ball to bounce at different heights. Soft surfaces such as carpet absorb more energy than hard surfaces like concrete or wood. This causes the ball to bounce lower than when it is bounced on hard surfaces like concrete.
Bouncing Ball Investigation This is an experiment to investigate bouncing balls and how they behave in different situations. Few independent variables will be changed, so the investigation is easy to manage, and the data is easier to process. The first independent variable that will be tested.
...the more energy is lost and the less the ball bounces back. The less denting that occurs, the more energy is kept and the higher the ball bounces back.