The balls, in order shown in the video, include: Dodgeball, Kickball, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Softball, Official Baseball, Safety Baseball, Plastic Baseball, Tennis, Cricket, Racquetball, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, High Density Street Hockey, Low Density Street Hockey, Official Golf, Foam Golf, Plastic Golf, Ping Pong, Football, Rugby, and Hackeysack.
Discussion Questions for the Video
- From how high, approximately, are the balls dropped?
- From a visual estimate, which is the largest ball? How large is the ball, approximately?
- Use a stopwatch to time the length of bouncing for each ball. Which ball bounces the longest amount of time? The shortest amount of time?
- How far do the balls rebound each time? Is there a ratio to describe the decrease in ball height for each bounce?
- What features of the ball determine the ball's performance during bouncing? How do these features relate to the sport?
This video is part of a 3-part series, consisting of individual videos with balls bouncing, rolling and flying. Students can view these videos in conjunction with science lab manuals from Schottenbauer Publishing.
Update (2/26/2015)! The Science of Balls: Sampler Edition and its German translation, are now available! Corresponding directly to the three YouTube videos listed above, this book contains graphs of 24 sport balls as they bounce, roll, and fly through the air.
