Education Technology


Velocity and the Bouncing Ball

Activity Overview

In this activity, students will explore the position of the ball versus time for a single bounce. They will also examine the relationship between the height of the ball and its velocity.

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 51 - 55 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 begin data collection
  • Ensure that your graph has a minimum of five bounces
  • Select one bounce to analyze
  • Use data from a single bounce to sketch graphs of distance versus time and velocity versus time
  • Record the right and left bounds and find the best quadratic and linear function that fits the data
  • 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