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why does a golf ball bounce higher than a basketball

by Emelia Johnston Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

The higher the ball is positioned, the more its potential energy. As the ball is dropped and gravity forces it downward, the velocity of the ball increases because of the accelerating effects of gravity. The ball falls through the air, converting stored energy to the energy of motion, and impacts the floor, bouncing higher.

Shape. The shape of a golf ball is integral to it's bounce. Golf balls are spherical in shape which allows them to easily bounce straight off the ground, unlike odd shaped footballs.Apr 15, 2010

Full Answer

Why do golf balls bounce?

The spherical shape of golf ball contents helps create bounce. When force is exerted on the golf ball, it moves in a particular direction. When it hits a surface, the force of physics causes it to move in the opposite direction. Imprint Golf: Are All Golf Balls the Same?

Do harder or softer golf balls bounce better?

Harder balls tend to bounce better than their softer counterparts. Newer golf ball designs all include a spherical shaped object inside the shell of the golf ball. Older designs used materials such as goose feathers which were uneven in shape.

Why do basketballs bounce when dropped?

Basketballs (and other types of hollow balls) bounce because of the pressurized air inside of them. When you drop a basketball, the first thing that affects it is gravity, which pulls it straight towards the ground. Gravity makes the ball accelerate (get faster and faster) as it falls,...

Why does the ball go faster when it hits the ground?

Gravity makes the ball accelerate (get faster and faster) as it falls, so when it gets close to the ground, it's going pretty fast. As it hits the ground, there's also a force between the wall of the ball and the ground. The ball pushes down on the ground and the ground pushes up on the ball.

What happens when a tennis ball bounces?

Why does the velocity of a ball increase as the ball is dropped?

What surface bounces back faster?

What happens to the outer covering of tennis balls?

How do balls get distorted?

How does the ball contain potential energy?

Can you use a softball in tennis?

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Why does the golf ball bounce the highest?

When the ball hits the ground, all that kinetic energy has to go somewhere. A lot of it goes back into the ball, giving it more force to pop back up into the air—so the higher the potential energy, the higher the kinetic energy, and the higher the kinetic energy, the higher the bounce!

Why does a bouncy ball bounce higher than a baseball?

Because bouncy balls are elastic, the molecules will want to return to their original shape. The energy of the downward motion of the ball will be converted into upward motion as the molecules spring back into their original shape.

Why do balls bounce at different heights?

Changing Heights Height has a lot to do with potential energy. The higher the ball is positioned, the more its potential energy. As the ball is dropped and gravity forces it downward, the velocity of the ball increases because of the accelerating effects of gravity.

Why does a tennis ball bounce higher than a basketball?

This means they both have some amount of kinetic energy, but the basketball has more due to its larger mass. After the collision, the basketball has a very low speed and thus very little kinetic energy. That means the tennis ball gets a bunch of kinetic energy—and with a low mass, you get a high velocity.

Does the weight of a ball affect how high it bounces?

If the mass of the ball increases than the height the ball bounces will increase because the more mass an object has the more energy that gets build up when the ball gets released and makes the ball go higher.

How does a surface affect the bounce height of a ball?

A hard surface, like concrete or hardwood, hardly absorbs any, so most of the kinetic energy of the fall goes into bouncing the ball back up. A soft surface, like grass or carpet, absorbs more energy from the fall, so there's less left to push the ball back up, and it bounces pretty badly.

Can a ball bounce higher than from where it was dropped?

The reason it doesn't bounce higher than where it started is simple: some of the ball's energy is lost as heat when it bounces, so it doesn't have as much going up as it did coming down. Knowing that, you might figure that a ball could never bounce higher than the height from which is was dropped.

How does pressure affect the bounce of a ball?

With more air in the ball, the air starts at higher pressure and pushes back that much harder when the ball is bounced. So that short answer is that more inflated basketballs bounce better because they have more air pressure inside them.

Does a basketball bounce higher than a soccer ball?

The basketball bounced at 23.3 inches. Lastly I found out the average of a soccer ball to be 21.8 inches. This had shown me that the basketball bounced the highest at an average of 23.3 inches and the marble was the lowest bounce at only 4.8 inches.

Why does a ball bounce lower and lower?

At impact, most of the kinetic energy is transferred to elastic energy in the ball (by its deformation) and not to the floor. Some energy is also converted to other forms like heat and sound. These other forms of energy, are mostly losses and they are not recovered thus making the ball bounce back to a lower height.

What causes golf balls to bounce?

There are many factors that lead to this bounce including shape, construction, and materials. Although there are several styles of golf balls, all golf balls bounce.

What causes a golf ball to move in the opposite direction?

When force is exerted on the golf ball, it moves in a particular direction. When it hits a surface, the force of physics causes it to move in the opposite direction.

What is the shape of a golf ball?

The shape of a golf ball is integral to it's bounce. Golf balls are spherical in shape which allows them to easily bounce straight off the ground, unlike odd shaped footballs.

Why does a tennis ball bounce higher than a golf ball?

If a tennis ball and a golf ball are bounced, then the tennis ball will bounce higher then the golf ball because the tennis ball has pressurized air inside of it making it need to use less energy to deform, and having more energy left for the rebound.

Why does a tennis ball deform more when it hits the ground?

The simplest explanation I can give (without getting into the Laws of Physics) is that a tennis ball will deform more when it hits the ground and the energy of the falling tennis ball is, in part, used in that deformation process whereas a golf ball is made of much stiffer materials that don’t deform as much. So more of the golf ball’s energy is preserved and results in the upward acceleration that we see as “bounce”.

What is the difference between a tennis ball and a baseball?

Unlike a baseball, the tennis ball is air filled and has a flexible fabric over rubber cover.

How does a golf club strike work?

A golf club hits the ball with a very strong force, it compresses the ball, and the ball then “springs off” the face of the club per the physics that Clay describes . But without a high speed camera, you can’t see this happen. But the force of the club strike is much more powerful than what you can create while squeezing it, which is why it feels more like a rock to you, yet when the club hits it, it reacts more like a “rubber ball” since it’s being compressed and then springs back. It’s the same with a tennis ball except that the racket hits with a lot less collision force than a golf club, so the ball is designed to react optimally to that amount of collision force and therefore you are able to squeeze the tennis ball.

What is the measure of bounce between two objects?

The measure of bounce between two objects actually has a name. It’s called the coefficient of restitution. It’s the bounce ability of two objects. Very hard surfaces will have a C of R of about 1. Sand would be 0.

Why is the ball on a clay court uneven?

On Clay courts, you will find uneven bounce because that is the nature of the surface. That is why the ball sometimes keeps very low and sometimes bounces high. But that happens because of the surface.

Why are grass courts so effective?

On Grass Courts, you will find the ball keeping low in general. And that is because the grass tends to not let the ball bounce as much as you would like. This is the reason why we find slices to be more effective on grass courts.

Why do basketballs bounce?

Basketballs (and other types of hollow balls) bounce because of the pressurized air inside of them. When you drop a basketball, the first thing that affects it is gravity, which pulls it straight towards the ground.

What happens when a ball hits the ground?

As it hits the ground, there's also a force between the wall of the ball and the ground. The ball pushes down on the ground and the ground pushes up on the ball. The ball compresses a little as it squashes, and the energy it picked up as it fell mostly goes into compressing the air inside.

What happens to energy when there is no air pressure inside a ball?

If there's not enough air pressure inside, most of the energy just goes into bending the molecules in the rubber of the ball. Unless a ball is made of special rubber (like a superball), most of that energy doesn't get back out, but just heats the ball up.

What happens when a tennis ball bounces?

The Physics of a Bouncing Ball. When a tennis ball is thrown to the floor, gravity pulls downward on the ball. While the ball is on the move, kinetic energy--the energy of motion--is at work. As the energy-driven ball hits the floor, the physical forces in play flatten and deform the shape of the ball, dispersing and compressing the molecules ...

Why does the velocity of a ball increase as the ball is dropped?

As the ball is dropped and gravity forces it downward, the velocity of the ball increases because of the accelerating effects of gravity. The ball falls through the air, converting stored energy to the energy of motion, and impacts the floor, bouncing higher. References. PhysLink: Temperature Effects on Balls.

What surface bounces back faster?

Surfaces like Styrofoam, in contrast to metal or ceramic tile, act like a trampoline, states the Terrific Science website, allowing the ball to bounce back higher and faster.

What happens to the outer covering of tennis balls?

As the ball is in play, the fuzz on the outside of the ball wears off, changing the ball's total mass. The court, acting like sandpaper, gradually wears the outer covering of the ball until it changes the weight and shape of the ball. The same hold true for basketballs, baseballs and other balls.

How do balls get distorted?

Balls get distorted when they bounce. Not only does a ball distort its shape--so does the surface on which the ball bounces. Surfaces that "give," such as Styrofoam and cork, deform as a ball hits against them and save the molecules in the ball from having to do most of the flattening and distorting. Surfaces like Styrofoam, in contrast to metal or ceramic tile, act like a trampoline, states the Terrific Science website, allowing the ball to bounce back higher and faster.

How does the ball contain potential energy?

As you hold a ball in the air, waiting to drop it, the ball contains potential energy. Nothing has happened, because you haven't yet dropped the ball. Still, energy is stored inside the ball. Height has a lot to do with potential energy. The higher the ball is positioned, the more its potential energy. As the ball is dropped and gravity forces it downward, the velocity of the ball increases because of the accelerating effects of gravity. The ball falls through the air, converting stored energy to the energy of motion, and impacts the floor, bouncing higher.

Can you use a softball in tennis?

Using a softball to play basketball or a handball during a tennis match doesn't make sense. Different sports require differently designed balls. The size and the material making up a ball matter a great deal, and a lot of scientific research goes into developing the right bounce for the right ball. Several other factors affect ...

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