Rishi+G14

Rishi G 2013-2014
 * TESTING THE BOUNCEABILITY OF DIFFERENT SIZED BOUNCY BALLS **


 * ABSTRACT **

The purpose of the experiment was to see which sized bouncy ball bounces the highest: a small one, a medium-sized one, or a large one. It was hypothesized that the small bouncy ball would bounce the highest, since it would require the least amount kinetic energy to bounce high, since it had the least mass. Even though the low mass would cause it to gain less kinetic energy while falling, it was figured that this would be overpowered by the low amount of kinetic energy that was needed to make it bounce high. To perform the experiment, the three sizes of bouncy balls were dropped three times each, and the average bounce height of each bouncy ball was recorded. It turned out that the hypothesis was incorrect, as the medium-sized bouncy ball bounced the highest of the three sizes of balls. The small bouncy ball bounced the second highest, and the large bouncy ball bounced the lowest.

The purpose of the second experiment that was performed was to see how the temperature of a bouncy ball affects the height it bounces. The ball that was kept at 15.6 degrees Celsius (the cold bouncy ball) bounced the highest, the ball that was kept at room temperature (22.4 degrees Celsius) bounced the second highest, and the ball that was kept at 40.6 degrees Celsius (the warm bouncy ball) bounced the lowest.

This experiment could be improved by using more bouncy balls of different sizes in between the ones used, to see if there are any sizes of bouncy balls that bounce even better than the medium-sized one that was used in this experiment. Another improvement could be to have someone hold the meter stick straight to make sure that it isn't tilted, therefore making the results more accurate. Finally, a third experimental improvement could be to use balls that were all made by the same company to make the results more accurate. A future experiment could be to see which surface bouncy balls bounce best on.
 * EXPERIMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS AND FUTURE EXPERIMENTS **

To read the full ISP Paper for this experiment, click on the PDF file below: