Physic IA - Squash Ball - Efficiency

IA Physics (HL) Harsh J.
Shah R3
Investigating the energy efficiency of a bouncing squash ball – ‘Data

Collection and Processing’
Result table
The height of the squash ball under different temperature
Temperature (oC) 1st Trail height, h 2nd Trail height, h 3rd Trail height, h Average height,
± 15 oC m ± 0.05 m m ± 0.05 m m ± 0.05 m h m ± 0.05 m
5 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.08
22 0.15 0.15 0.14 0.15
33 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.21
43 0.25 0.22 0.23 0.23
53 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.29
63 0.35 0.34 0.31 0.33
71 0.39 0.40 0.38 0.39
83 0.45 0.44 0.43 0.44
The efficiency of the squash ball under different temperature
Average bounce
Temperature (oC) Release height, h
height, h Efficiency % Uncertainties
± 15 oC m ± 0.0005
m ± 0.05 m
5 0.08 0.8000 10 ±6.3
22 0.15 0.8000 19 ±6.5
33 0.21 0.8000 26 ±6.4
43 0.23 0.8000 29 ±6.5
53 0.29 0.8000 36 ±6.4
63 0.33 0.8000 41 ±6.5
71 0.39 0.8000 49 ±6.6
83 0.44 0.8000 55 ±6.6
Note – I have used ± 15 oC because there are many time throughout the investigation where there
is a heat loss – For example drying the ball with the towel and when the ball is being dropped.
How calculated the uncertainties for the efficiency
1
IA Physics (HL) Harsh J. Shah R3
Investigating the energy efficiency of a bouncing squash ball – ‘Conclusion

and Evaluation’
Conclusion
Looking over the results, we can clearly see that as the temperature of the squash ball increases,
the height that the ball bounces increases as well. This helps us come to the conclusion, that
temperature is directly related to the efficiency of squash ball. It is also probably directly
proportional. However this can’t be seen in my result because of random and systematic error
that has been a part of my experiment which I will explain later on.
Evaluation
I am pretty happy with my results as it clearly does show that heat helps a squash ball bounce
higher. There are also no anonymous results. However I am a bit concerned about how big the
error/uncertainties are. This is probably because there were some variables that I couldn’t control
fully. One of the most important variables that I couldn’t control was the temperature of the
squash ball. When heating the water, in which the squash ball was in, i couldn’t be a 100% sure
that whether had the same temperature everywhere. What made the temperature harder to control
was the fact that we had to dry the ball with a towel. Drying the ball meant lot of heat loss and in
one case (5 oC) a gain in heat. This meant that the temperature could have gone by as down as 10
o
C from the actual value. It probably went lower as i was repetition the experiment. Therefore the
value of the squash ball bounce i obtained in my third is probably much lower than it should be.
There were also a few human errors in this investigation. Releasing the ball at 80cm and then
looking down to see where exactly it bounced was nearly impossible. This probably made the
values I had obtained for bounce height a bit too high or a bit too low.
Improving the Investigation
I personally thought that doing this experiment with three more people would really make the
results more accurate and more precise. By having, one person heating the ball, one drying the
ball and dropping the ball and finally one observing how high the ball bounced and recording it
would make the investigation more quicker and there would less human error when seeing how
much the ball had bounced. However if this experiment is to be done by one person, I would
look for another way to heat the ball. As I said heating in a beaker and then drying with a towel
could mean a lot of heat loss. By using a microwave or something along those lines to heat the
ball would be a better idea. This is because the microwave will not let heat go or come in and as
the ball doesn’t need to be dried which again minimizes heat loss and makes the experiment
quicker. To improve the accuracy of the investigation, I would put different coloured tapes on
each multiple of 10. This will make my experiment a whole lot easier, as it will make the value
that the ball bounced to a lot easier to spot.

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IA Physics (HL) Harsh J.

Investigating the energy efficiency of a bouncing squash ball – ‘Data

The height of the squash ball under different temperature

The efficiency of the squash ball under different temperature

How calculated the uncertainties for the efficiency

Investigating the energy efficiency of a bouncing squash ball – ‘Conclusion

Improving the Investigation

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