Does Temperature Affect the Height of a
Tennis Ball’s Bounce?
Luke Wright
Mrs. Mcnees
Syracuse Jr High
Statement of the Problem

Does temperature affect the height of a
tennis ball’s bounce?
Research





A tennis ball has a hollow rubber core that contains pressurized air
within it.
When it falls to the ground, the air within the ball expands and
causes the ball to bounce back
Changing the temperature of the ball affects the pressure of the air
inside the ball and, in turn, the height to which it bounces.
Temperature affects the vibration of molecules, and will affect the
bounce.
Faster will go higher and slower will go lower.
http://www.ehow.com/info_12026623_science-project-using-coldvs-hot-tennis-balls.html, eHow.com, A Science Project Using Cold
vs Hot Tennis Balls, 1999
 http://www.blurtit.com/q514916.html, blurtit.com, How Does
Temperature Affect The Bounce of a Ball?

Hypothesis

If you heat one tennis ball, freeze
another, and leave the third alone, then
the heated one will bounce the highest
because the heat will have gotten its
molecules moving faster than the other
balls.
Procedure: Materials
Three tennis balls
 Notebook and pencil
 Chair (to drop balls from)
 Camera
 Tape measurer
 Heat pad
 Freezer
 Laser Level

Procedure: Steps
1. Acquire three tennis balls.
 2. Place one tennis ball at room
temperature.
 3. Place one tennis ball in a freezer.
 4. Place one tennis ball in a heating pad.
 5. Drop balls from chair.
 6. Take pictures with camera.
 7. Record the results and draw a
conclusion

Variables
Constants: All three are tennis balls, and
all three are dropped from 5 feet.
 Controlled variable: The ball kept at
room temperature.
 Independent variable: The temperature
of each ball
 Dependent variable: The height of the
bounce of each ball.

Observations
Heated Ball
The heated ball bounced
the highest at 109.22cm

Observations
Frozen Ball
The frozen ball bounced
the lowest at 53.34 cm.

Observations
Room Temperature Ball
The room temperature
ball bounced in between
at 93.98 cm.

Data
Bounce Height in Centimeters
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Heated ball
Room
Temperature
Ball
Frozen Ball
Conclusion
I have concluded that temperature does
affect the height of a tennis ball’s
bounce.
 This information supports my hypothesis
that the heated ball will bounce the
highest because of its faster molecules.
