An Investigation Into the Way in Which Energy Is Lost by A Table
Tennis Ball After Several Bounces
Aim: To investigate the amount energy lost, between bounces of a table
tennis ball. I will also look to see if the fraction of energy lost is
constant at each bounce.
Prediction: The difference between the observed heights will lessen as
the initial height of drop decreases. I predict that the change
between the average heights will be large to start with but decrease
slower the more number of bounces I do.
Energy Background: Energy is what the ability to do work is called.
Work and energy are given the same units, as they are measured the
same. Power measures the rate at which work is done.
Potential energy is stored energy, it signifies already done work,
for example when the table tennis ball is lifted to the top of the
100cm metre rule and is placed on the top it has potential energy –
the potential to fall down energy, when it drops it now has/uses
kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy is moving energy – anything moving uses kinetic energy
to do so. Energy is always changing; it is never created or destroyed.
But it can be ‘lost’ when, unknown to you, something else
uses/converts the energy. For example, when a ball is dropped it has
kinetic energy on the way down, then when it bounces back up, it
doesn’t come quite so far. It ‘loses’ energy in sound and heat (due to
friction). Energy loss is why the table tennis ball does not bounce
all the way up to the height it is dropped from. It is lost in several
different ways, including: sound, heat and friction.
Theoretically, few factors affect the bounce/bounciness of the table
tennis ball, but when it comes to actually doing the experiment there
are very few factors that you can keep the same easily. I will use the
same table tennis ball for every experiment, I will be recording all
the readings personally and repeating the experiment on the same
The independent variables in this experiment are the height of the ramp, the length of the ramp, the surface of the ramp, the weight of the marble, the size of the marble, and the surface of the marble. The dependent variable is the distance the ball rolls. The controlled variables are the starting position of the ball, the angle of the ramp, and the surface of the floor. Units: The height of the ball from the ground, the height of the ramp, and the distance the ball rolls will be measured in centimeters (cm).
speed of the ball rolling down a ramp. From the data that I'm going to
Have you ever wondered how a record player works? Probably not. After all, who still listens to records? Surprisingly enough, turntables are making a come back. With the recent surge of interest in hip hop music, popular attention has been turned towards the turntable, used by DJs to provide beats, loops and scratching for virtually all of today's hip hop groups.
will use only one type of ball to keep my results the same. In the
2. Material of the ball; as the ball is the same one used, this will
now only a few feet. The loss of the Gas Terminal would result in the
Investigating the Bounce of a Squash Ball This investigation is associated with the bounce of a squash ball. I will be investigating 4 different types of squash balls, which have different, bounce properties and compare them to each other and relate them to why each different type of squash ball is used. The relationship will be associated with how different balls are used at different levels of proficiency in the game of squash i.e. the squash balls that don't bounce much will probably used at a less proficient level whereas the balls with the most bounce will be used at professional level. The different coloured squash balls I will be using are; white, yellow, red and blue, and I will be finding out what the difference is between them.
has on the rate of reaction. I will do this by recording the time it
* The ball -The ball has to se spherical. It has to be made of
deal of energy is required, most of which appeared as heat in the target. As a
from the back of the throat to the stomach. It lies in the back of the
Heat is thermal energy being transferred from one place to another, because of temperature changes. This can take place by three processes. These three processes are known as conduction, convection, and radiation.
and can be found on the surface, about one eighth of an inch in depth.
Thermodynamics is the branch of science concerned with the nature of heat and its conversion to any form of energy. In thermodynamics, both the thermodynamic system and its environment are considered. A thermodynamic system, in general, is defined by its volume, pressure, temperature, and chemical make-up. In general, the environment will contain heat sources with unlimited heat capacity allowing it to give and receive heat without changing its temperature. Whenever the conditions change, the thermodynamic system will respond by changing its state; the temperature, volume, pressure, or chemical make-up will adjust accordingly in order to reach its original state of equilibrium. There are three laws of thermodynamics in which the changing system can follow in order to return to equilibrium.