Dropping Golf Balls... You will drop a golf ball and a fuzzy ball from four different heights (25cm, 50cm, 75 cm and 100cm) looking for evidence of energy by a change that is produced by each one.

Let ’ s Investigate At each lab station you will find a piece of paper with 7 Questions and a set of directions from A-D. (Do NOT write on these sheets.) You must do these in order… so if some Questions come first, answer the question BEFORE going on to the direction steps!!! Answer the questions on the dry erase board neatly. You may discuss the answers as a group, but do NOT copy answers from other groups…write your own!!!

Set up a Data Table 1.Make a data table 2.One column for the golf ball and one column for the fuzzy ball. 3.Use little ruler to measure the width of the crater in cm. 4.Then Use the ruler to smooth the sand. 5.Record your answers. 6.Clean up when you are finished! Answer post lab questions. Heights Golf Ball Fuzzy Ball Height (cm) Width of Crater (cm)

Investigation Results 1.) The golf ball does not have any K E since it is not moving. It does not have the ability to move on its own due to its position (sitting in the sand) so it does not have any GP E. If K E = 0J and GP E = 0J then M E is also 0J!!! 2.) The golf ball now has GP E b/c it is above the ground… it now has a height of 25cm!!! It does not have K E though since it is not moving.

Investigation Results 3.) The golf ball got its energy from the person who picked it up and moved it to a height!!! The person TRANSFERRED energy to the ball from themselves when they lifted it!!! This energy came from the person ’ s muscles. The muscles got their energy from the food you ate. Tracing this flow of energy is called an ENERGY CHAIN.

Investigation Results 4.) The ball dropped from the highest point = 100cm caused the biggest crater. 5.) The variable that changed here was the MASS of the ball. Everything else remained constant (stayed the same). The craters produced by the hollow ball w/ less mass were smaller. Mass affects GP E and K E !!!

Investigation Results 6.) Both of the balls hit the sand at the same speed!!! (In other words, they fall at the same time!!!)…Watch I ’ ll show you… The difference between the two balls is the amount of energy!!! The more massive ball possesses more energy!!!

Investigation Results 7.) The big point you should have concluded is that MASS affects both GP E and K E. You should have also concluded that the higher the release point, the faster the ball will be traveling when it hits the sand. Gravity speeds up ALL falling objects at the same rate (9.8 m/s 2 ). The greater the speed of the object when it hits the sand, the greater the K E.