Bouncing Balls: Collisions, Momentum & Math (for High School)
In this activity, students examine how different balls react when colliding with different surfaces. Also, they will have plenty of opportunity to learn how to calculate momentum and understand the principle of conservation of momentum.
How do balls bounce?Copyright 2007 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
Sports engineering is becoming a popular specialty field of study. While some engineers dedicate their research to understanding collisions between balls and bats, others study the effects of a golf ball colliding with the head of a golf club. And, mechanical engineers consider momentum and collisions when designing vehicles. Learning how the human body and equipment interacts with the ball during impact or how the human body interacts with the inside of a car during a crash, helps engineers design better sports equipment and safer vehicles.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Understand that momentum depends on both mass and velocity.
- Recognize that different surfaces and materials promote different types of collisions.
- Collect data to solve equations.
- Learn that understanding material properties is an important aspect of engineering design