Basketball and Tennis ball

Drawing of a tennis ball on top of a basketball
PIRA: 
1N10.09
Area: 
1 Mechanics
Topic: 
1N Linear Momentum
Concept: 
Impulse and Thrust

 

Drop a basketball and a tennis ball (with the tennis ball on top). The tennis ball will bounce higher than the original point of release! Why? Consider the basketball to have an elastic collision with the floor. At that instant, it is now traveling upward with essentially the same speed as the basketball and tennis ball were traveling downward a moment before. The basketball going up collides with the tennis ball going down, giving the dramatic result. Be careful! The ball can bounce in random directions!

 

Demo Contact

Scott Thomas
Demonstration Manager
828-262-2435
thomassa@appstate.edu