Bouncing Balls LAB
Name: ______________ Date: _____
Mass of tennis ball: _______________ Mass of rubber ball: ________________
***Tennis Ball-Tile Floor***
Trial #
Bounce height (cm)
1
2
3
Average
***Tennis Ball-Cardboard Box***
Trial #
Bounce height (cm)
1
2
3
Average
***Rubber Ball-Tile Floor***
Trial #
Bounce height (cm)
1
2
3
Average
***Rubber Ball-Cardboard Box***
Trial #
1
2
3
Average
Bounce height (cm)
1) Calculate the gravitational potential energy of each ball before dropping it:
GPE=mgh
Tennis ball mass= .005kg Rubber ball mass = .003 kg
work
final answer
Tennis ball tile
Tennis ball
cardboard
Rubber ball tile
Rubber ball
cardboard
2) What happens to kinetic energy of a ball when it hits the floor?
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3) What observations can you make about the average bounce height for the
three trials?
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______________________________________________________
3) Explain why the balls bounced to different heights using the concept of
elastic potential energy. _______________________________________
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4) Fill in the blanks with the type of energy (kinetic/potential) at each phase
of the bouncing ball.