Objectives
- Record the successive maximum heights for a bouncing ball.
- Model the bounce height data with an exponential function.
Procedure
Groups of three students used a motion detector to collect the height of a bouncing ball for 5 seconds.
Ready to Bounce
Bouncing Ball
Analysis
An example of one group’s data collection.
Height vs Time Graph
Students determined the maximum height of five successive bounces. They put the data in a List & Spreadsheets Page.
The data for the first and fourth bounce was used to mathematically determine an exponential model that would fit the data. They plotted their data and model on a Data & Statistics Page.
Calculated Model
Then they had the calculator find the exponential regression for their data.
Exponential Regression
Results
Most groups found their model and the exponential regression to be very similar.