======Efficiency of Bouncing Balls======


<WRAP right box>
**Materials: **{{$demo.materials_description}}\\
**Difficulty: **{{$demo.difficulty_description}}\\
**Safety: **{{$demo.safety_description}}\\
\\
**Categories:** {{$demo.categories}}
\\


**Alternative titles:** Energy Efficiency of Balls
</WRAP>

====Summary====                   
{{$demo.summary}}



====Procedure====  
  - Gather a selection of balls such as tennis, squash, table tennis, and cricket balls.  
  - Measure a specific drop height using a metre rule.  
  - Drop each ball from this height onto a flat surface and record the height of the first bounce.  
  - Repeat the process several times for accuracy and calculate the average bounce height.  
  - Determine the efficiency of each ball using the formula:  
    Efficiency = (Bounce Height ÷ Drop Height) × 100%.  
  - Compare results between different types of balls to find which is most efficient.

====Links==== 
2 MINUTE EXPERIMENT - Ball Bounce! - HighSchoolScience101: 
{{youtube>x-jdAlMjZQE?}}\\

📄 Efficiency of a Ball - preproom.org: [[https://www.preproom.org/practicals/pr.aspx?prID=1054]]\\

📄 Bouncing Ball Efficiency: [[https://www.eips.ca/download/334080]]\\

====Variations====
  * Investigate how heating a squash ball with a hairdryer affects its bounce efficiency.  
  * Try dropping balls onto different surfaces to observe how surface texture and hardness influence energy loss.  
  * Use a high-speed camera or slow-motion recording to analyze the motion and deformation of the ball during impact.  




====Safety Precautions====
  * If using a hairdryer to heat a ball, do not overheat it.  
  * Handle hot equipment carefully and allow the ball to cool before touching.  
  * Conduct tests in an open area to avoid injury from rebounding balls.




====Questions to Consider====
  * What type of energy conversion occurs when a ball bounces? (Gravitational potential energy converts to kinetic energy and then to elastic potential energy during impact.)  
  * Why do some balls bounce higher than others? (Because they lose less energy to heat, sound, and deformation.)  
  * How does temperature affect the efficiency of a ball? (Warmer balls, such as heated squash balls, often bounce higher due to increased elasticity.)  
  * Would a perfectly efficient ball ever stop bouncing? (No, if it were 100% efficient, it would bounce back to the same height indefinitely, though this is impossible in practice.)