http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/ball_bounce_experiment.xmlactivitytext/xmlCenter for Engineering Educational Outreach, athleticsdataexperimentgraph interpretationgraphingmaterials sciencereverse engineeringsportsteamwork

Many of today’s popular sports are based around the use of balls, yet none of the balls are completely alike. In fact, they are all designed with specific characteristics in mind and are quite varied. Students investigate different balls' abilities to bounce and represent the data they collect graphically.

Materials scientists and engineers identify the properties of many different materials and recommend their best uses. This activity demonstrates reverse engineering, in which the properties of finished products are determined by performing tests on the products. How to run an experimentHow to collect data. How to present data. How to interpret graphs. How to graph results. Teamwork3100TeachEngineering.orghttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/ball_characteristics_worksheet.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/ball_characteristics_worksheet.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_1.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_1.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_1_bar_graph.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_1_bar_graph.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_2_bar_graph.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/experiment_2_bar_graph.pdfhttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/test_worksheet.dochttp://www.teachengineering.org/collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_ball_bounce_experiment/test_worksheet.pdfS101F91AMassachusettsScience1.1 Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, i.e., weight, strength, hardness, and flexibility.35S10047AAMassachusettsScience2.1 Identify a problem that reflects the need for shelter, storage, or convenience.35S101B08DMassachusettsMathUse pictures, models, tables, charts, graphs, words, number sentences, and mathematical notations to interpret mathematical relationships.34S1021115MassachusettsMathRepresent real situations and mathematical relationships with concrete models, tables, graphs, and rules in words and with symbols, e.g., input-output tables.56S101D900MassachusettsMathProduce and interpret graphs that represent the relationship between two variables in everyday situations.56S1022E70MassachusettsMathCollect and organize data using observations, measurements, surveys, or experiments, and identify appropriate ways to display the data.34S1016DA9MassachusettsMathMatch representations of a data set such as lists, tables, or graphs (including circle graphs) with the actual set of data.34S10157F3MassachusettsMathConstruct, draw conclusions, and make predictions from various representations of data sets, including tables, bar graphs, pictographs, line graphs, line plots, and tallies.34United StatesCopyright 2012 - Center for Engineering Educational Outreach, Tufts Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-12-274Teacher