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CSEC Physics Investigative Project Example

1) Darren noticed his rubber ball did not bounce as high when landing on a paper towel compared to the ground. He hypothesized that the height of rebound would decrease with additional paper towels. 2) An experiment was conducted, releasing a rubber ball from 60 cm above paper towels placed on the floor. The height of rebound was recorded for 0-7 paper towels and averages calculated. 3) A linear relationship was found between rebound height and number of paper towels. As more paper towels were added, the rebound height decreased according to the equation: Rebound Height = 1.6(Number of Paper Towels) + 43 cm.

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Peter Missole
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666 views

CSEC Physics Investigative Project Example

1) Darren noticed his rubber ball did not bounce as high when landing on a paper towel compared to the ground. He hypothesized that the height of rebound would decrease with additional paper towels. 2) An experiment was conducted, releasing a rubber ball from 60 cm above paper towels placed on the floor. The height of rebound was recorded for 0-7 paper towels and averages calculated. 3) A linear relationship was found between rebound height and number of paper towels. As more paper towels were added, the rebound height decreased according to the equation: Rebound Height = 1.6(Number of Paper Towels) + 43 cm.

Uploaded by

Peter Missole
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EXEMPLAR OF INVESTIGATIVE PRACTICAL

EXEMPLAR 1

PART A-THE PROPOSAL

Observation

During lunch break at school Darren noticed his rubber ball did not bounce as high as it normally
would when it landed on a paper towel. Darren now claims if more paper towels are added the

Hypothesis: The height of rebound of a rubber ball decreases with the addition of paper towels.

Aim: To investigate the height of rebound [Hr] of a rubber ball with increasing paper towels.

Apparatus: Meter rule; paper towels; rubber ball; pencil.

Diagram

Variables

Independent Number of paper towels


Dependent Height of rebound
Controlled/ Constant Rubber Ball; Height of Release

CXC 22/G/SYLL 13 59
Method

1. Securely place meter rule vertically against a wall.

2. Mark off a suitable release height [HO] , [the ball must be allowed to FALL vertically and
REBOUND on nearly the same straight line].

3. With no paper towels at the base of the meter ruler, release the rubber ball from the
marked height [the ball must be completely above the marked line with its bottom edge just
touching the line].

4. Observe and record the rebound height of the ball [HR], [this should be done from in front of
the ruler and eye level]. Repeat twice for this number of paper towels. Record all data.

5. Place a single paper towel at the base of the ruler and release it from marked height.

6. Observe and record the rebound height of the ball. Repeat steps 4 and 5 twice for that
number of paper towels, recording all data.

7. Continue adding paper towels and repeat step 6 until there are 8 paper towels.

8. Calculate average rebound height [Hr] for each number of paper towels.

9. Plot a graph of Rebound Height [y axis] against Number of paper towels [x axis]

Expected Results

The rubber ball will reach maximum rebound height when it bounces on the ground with no paper
towels present. As the paper towels are added it will rebound to a consistently lower height.

CXC 22/G/SYLL 13 60
PART B- THE IMPLEMENTATION

Method

1. The meter rule was securely placed vertically against a wall with the 0 cm end touching the
ground.

2. The release height, Ho, was set at 60 cm.

3. With no paper towels at the base of the meter ruler, the rubber ball was released from the
60 cm mark and the height of rebound was recorded. This step was repeated two more
times and the data recorded.

4. A single paper towel was placed at the base of the ruler and the ball was released from the
60 cm mark. The new height of rebound was recorded. This was repeated two more times
and data recorded.

5. Another paper towel was added and the rubber ball was released three times from the 60
cm mark. All rebound heights were recorded.

6. Step 5 was repeated until there were 7 paper towels at the base of the ruler.

7. The average rebound height [Hr] was calculated for each number of paper towels.

8. A graph of Rebound Height [y axis] against Number of paper towels [x axis] was plotted.

Results

# of paper towels Rebound Height, Average


HR[cm] Rebound
(Attempts) Height, HR[cm]
1 2 3
0 42 43 42 42
1 42 42 42 42
2 41 41 41 41
3 39 40 39 39
4 36 35 36 36
5 34 35 35 35
6 33 33 33 33
7 32 32 32 32

CXC 22/G/SYLL 13 61
Graph of Rebound Height Against Number of
Paper Towels for a Rubber Ball
50

45

40 (0, 43)
Rebound Height HR [cm]

35

30
(8, 30)
25

20

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Number of Paper Towels

CXC 22/G/SYLL 13 62
Calculations
Using points (0, 43) and (8, 30) to calculate the slope/gradient:

S =

= 1.6 (cm/paper towel)

Discussion

When the results were represented on a graph, the points defined a straight line. This allows the
relation between the rebound height and the paper towels to be described by a linear equation of
the form:
y = mx + c

Where y = Rebound height, x = number of paper towels, m = slope/gradient and c = intercept on the
y-axis.

From the calculations the relation between the paper towels and the rebound height of the ball is
described by:
RH = 1.6N + 43

Where RH is the rebound height and N is the number of paper towels.

When N = 0, the rebound height is 43 cm. As N increases, RH decreases because the slope is
negative. According to the relation, the rebound height will be zero when the number of paper
towels is approximately 27.

Limitations

Sources of Error/Limitation

The ball achieves its rebound height for a very short time. To measure this height during this short
time was difficult. At times only an approximation can be made. This introduces an error and a
limitation in determining the accurate rebound height whenever a paper towel is added.

Precautions

Read rebound heights perpendicular to the ruler.


Repeat the experiment for each number of paper towels at least 3.

Reflections

The paper towels used in this experiment are much softer than the ground and the ball. This
indicates that the paper towels decreases the rate of change of momentum of the ball and as a
result decreases the force of impact of the ball with the ground. The reduction in the force of
impact is as a result of the work done in compressing the paper towels on impact. Thus, the ball has
less energy to rebound and as a result its rebound height decreases.

Conclusion

The rebound height decreases with increasing number of paper towels.

CXC 22/G/SYLL 13 63

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