The Great Grade 11 Bouncing Ball Experiment
So Far, all of our work on graphs has been directed towards linear and quadratic relationships.
These relationships represent only a small (but important) part of the overall topic of modeling. There are numerous other models that are used in mathematics
The Quadratic E = mc 2
The Cubic
Periodic Functions
Cardioid Four Leaf Lemicon
Mobius Transformation
A bouncing ball provides and excellent illustration of an Exponential relationship.
Copy and complete the chart below: Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average trials Height (cm) (no decimals) Initial HeightNA Height after 1 bounce Height after 2 bounces Height after 3 bounces Height after 4 bounces Height after 5 bounces Height after 6 bounces Decay Factor H1/iH H2/H1 H3/H2 Etc…
Draw the graph Average Height VS Number of Bounces Average Height Number of bounces cm Don’t forget to plot the initial height
1.Write the exponential model that describes the decay of the basketball you used. H f =H i (X) n 2. Does it make sense that the reflection height decays at the same rate every bounce? Explain. 3. The moon has about 80% less gravity than Earth. How do you think your data would change if you repeated the experiment on the lunar surface?
Each person, hand in the completed graph, table, and answered questions once you finish.
Responses will vary but should be close to a 0.67 rebound factor!