Why is this? When a basketball hits the ground and as it flies through the air , it actually transforms some of its energy to another form. If players do not put enough energy back into the ball, they will not be able to dribble it effectively. When a basketball bounces, it has two different types of energy: kinetic and potential. Kinetic is the energy an object has due to its motion.
Potential energy is that which is stored in an object—its potential for motion—such as due to its height above the ground. For example, when you hold a basketball at waist level, it has some potential energy. If you drop the basketball, the force of gravity pulls it down, and as the ball falls its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy.
Observations and results Did the basketball bounce much higher on the harder surface compared with the softer one?
One factor that can affect the basketball's collision with the ground is the type of surface the ball collides with. When a basketball bounces off of a surface, some of its energy is absorbed by that surface. Some surfaces absorb more energy than others do. How much energy gets absorbed determines how much energy a player has to put back into the ball to keep it bouncing.
A hard surface, such as concrete, absorbs less energy compared with a soft surface, such as a carpeted floor. The more energy absorbed by the surface, the less that remains in the ball for it to bounce. This is why you should have seen that when you bounced the basketball on a relatively hard surface it bounced higher it lost less energy compared with when it was bounced on a softer surface where it lost more energy.
For example, depending on the type of basketball and surface, you may have seen the ball bounce about 15 inches high on carpet and about 25 inches high on concrete. This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options.
Test your reaction time using just a ruler! This is great fun to do with a friend to find out who has the fastest reaction time. You can also investigate to find out if your reaction time can be improved. Try one of my 20 easy sports science investigations for kids! These include finding out how much sugar certain drinks contain, how to keep bones strong and healthy and even making a model lung! Try this fun investigation into skipping rope lengths from Science Buddies.
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On cooler days, air molecules contract, as do the molecules in the material of the ball itself, causing underinflation and less elasticity. Rubber balls with tightly packed molecules lose little energy to heat or surface distortion and bounce better under a variety of temperatures. During ball-testing experiments, the Racquet Sports Industry website states that the outer coverings of tennis balls, for example, have a lot to do with the bounciness of the ball.
As the ball is in play, the fuzz on the outside of the ball wears off, changing the ball's total mass. The court, acting like sandpaper, gradually wears the outer covering of the ball until it changes the weight and shape of the ball. The same hold true for basketballs, baseballs and other balls. As you hold a ball in the air, waiting to drop it, the ball contains potential energy. Nothing has happened, because you haven't yet dropped the ball. Still, energy is stored inside the ball. Height has a lot to do with potential energy.
The higher the ball is positioned, the more its potential energy. As the ball is dropped and gravity forces it downward, the velocity of the ball increases because of the accelerating effects of gravity.
The ball falls through the air, converting stored energy to the energy of motion, and impacts the floor, bouncing higher.
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