Activity Overview
In this activity, students will explore the rebound height of a ball and develop a function that will model the rebound heights for a particular bounce. The model can then be used to predict the height of the ball for any bounce.
Before the Activity
Connect the calculator to the CBR 2™
Install the TI Connect™ software to analyze data on the computer
See the attached PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity
Print pages 57 - 60 from the attached PDF file for your class
During the Activity
Distribute the pages to your class.
Follow the Activity procedures:
Run the Ranger program on the calculator
Release the ball beneath the CBR and sketch a Distance - Time plot
Record the coordinates of the vertex and use lists to generate a scatter plot of the height data
Write the equations of linear and exponential functions that best fit the data, and then graph them
Using each model, predict the maximum possible rebound height of the ball
After the Activity
Students will complete the Data Sheet and answer questions listed in it.
Review student results:
As a class, discuss questions that appeared to be more challenging
Re-teach concepts as necessary