Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Vertical motion of a bouncing ball

In this experiment, you will measure the motion of a ball after it bounces off the floor.

  1. Fix a meterstick so it stands vertically against the edge of a table.
  2. Drop a ball from the stop of the meterstick, at a height H = 100 cm above the floor.
  3. Wait for the ball to strike the floor and bounce back up. As it does ...

Repeat step "c" five (5) times, so that you have five values of T and h.

Now, for the analysis.

  1. Compute the mean and standard deviation of the values of T.
  2. Using only these values of time, calculate the initial upwards velocity vi of the ball after its first bounce. Compute the uncertainty in this velocity, too. Write them both down clearly.
  3. Compute the mean and standard deviation of the values of h.
  4. Using only these values of height, calculate the initial upwards velocity vi of the ball after its first bounce. Compute the uncertainty in this velocity, too. Write them both down clearly.
  5. Do the two values of velocity agree within the uncertainties?
  6. SHOULD the two values of velocity agree within the uncertainties?


Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.