NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1046799
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Dec
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Reflections on a Bouncing Ball
Rohr, Jim; Lopez, Veronica; Rohr, Tyler
Physics Teacher, v52 n9 p534-537 Dec 2014
While observing the bounce heights of various kinds of sports balls dropped from different heights onto a variety of surfaces, we thought of the following question: Could measurements of drop and bounce heights of balls of different diameters, but of the same material, falling from different heights, but on the same surface, be expressed by a simple mathematical formula? Our objective was to provide a simple classroom ball-drop experiment that produced robust and interesting data sets from which students could address this question. With a suitable choice of variables, all the ball drop data could be collapsed to a single curve, so that given the mass and drop height of the ball, the bounce height could be reasonably estimated (±10% of measured values).
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A