• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Menu
  • Science Experiments For Kids
  • Science Fair Projects
  • Preschool Science
  • Science Facts
  • Printable Experiments
  • Science Sparks Books
  • Science Questions
  • Contact Me
Science Experiments for Kids
Menu
  • STEM Challenges
  • Early Years Science
    • Preschool Science
    • Sensory and Messy Play
    • Understanding of the World
    • Pirate Science Experiments
  • Primary Science
    • Baking Soda Experiments
    • Candy Experiments
    • Biology
    • Climate Change for Kids
    • Coding for Kids
    • Chemistry
    • Electricity for Kids
    • Magic Science Experiments
    • Harry Potter Experiments
    • Human Body Science
    • Air Pressure Experiments
    • Life Cycles
    • LEGO Science Experiments
    • Kitchen Science
    • Famous Scientists
    • Forces and Motion
    • Science Sparks Snippets
    • Key Stage 1 Science
      • Animals
      • Everyday Materials
      • Plants
      • Coding Activities
      • Humans and Health
      • Fine Motor skills
      • Science and Literacy
    • Key Stage 2 Science
      • Animals, Including Humans
      • Electricity
      • Light
      • Plants
      • Materials and their Properties
  • Key Stage 3
  • Holiday Science
    • Christmas Science
    • Halloween Science
    • Easter Science
  • Storybook Themed Science Experiments
  • Wonderful Women in STEM
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • FREE Experiments
  • Science for Kids
    • Kitchen Science
    • Climate Change
    • Egg Experiments
    • Fairy Tale Science
    • Edible Science
    • Human Health
    • Chemistry
    • Inspirational Women
    • Forces and Motion
  • Science Fair Projects
  • STEM Challenges
  • Science Sparks Books
  • Contact Science Sparks
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Key Stage 2 Science » Forces and Magents » Why do balls bounce?

    Why do balls bounce?

    April 6, 2012 By Emma Vanstone 4 Comments

    This week we are investigating why balls bounce and how different balls bounce differently on different surfaces.

    Balls bouncing seems like a simple concept, but the science behind it is quite complicated, so please bear in mind that we have simplified it for our audience.

    I asked the children to choose three balls of different sizes and this is what they came back with.  Not only were they of different sizes they were also made of different materials, ranging from soft to very hard.

    Why do balls bounce experiment

    We decided to test the balls bouncing on three different surfaces:

    • carpet
    • wood
    • tiles

    The balls are all made of different materials which needs to be considered, so we talked about what we could keep constant.We decided that the height from which the balls were dropped was important as was the force with which they were dropped.

    Why do balls bounce?

    My 5 year old dropped all the balls from shoulder height each time, and tried to just drop  without any extra force.

    Each time we recorded into a simple table how high the ball bounced.

    Why do balls bounce?

    Results

    We found that all balls bounced higher on the tiles than any other surface and lowest on the carpet. The smallest (hardest) ball reached the greatest height on the hard surfaces.

    Why do balls bounce?

    So, why do balls bounce?

    The reason balls bounce is quite advanced science.  It relates to how much energy balls have, what they are made of, how they change shape and where the energy they have goes.  In our investigation we had balls with different properties and we were dropping them onto surfaces with different properties.  The children were oblivious to these differences but did expect the bouncyness to relate to the size of the ball which is not necessarily a factor. There is much room for improvement on our investigation. How would you go about making this more scientific?  We just liked throwing balls around 🙂

    For older children

    You could record the number of bounces on each surface for each ball.

    Try dropping the balls from different heights, what happens?

    Can you get three balls of different sizes made from the same material and see what happens?

    We’ve also got lots more great ideas for learning about forces and motion.

    Last Updated on March 23, 2019 by Emma Vanstone

    « Simple Food Chains and a Worksheet!
    Choice Chambers – animal behaviour investigation! »

    Safety Notice

    Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

    These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Julie

      April 06, 2012 at 5:43 pm

      I think you did a great job with this experiment for a very young child. My kids are a little older and I have thought about doing something similar. I was thinking we would drop different types of balls off the balcony and try to measure how high they bounce with a tape measure. I’m interested to see the responses you get to your question.

      Reply
    2. Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum

      April 08, 2012 at 10:00 pm

      Ohhh what a fun activity – what is the tiny ball? We are just discovering things bounce here

      Reply
    3. JoAnn Jordan

      April 09, 2012 at 12:03 am

      Yet another fun way to introduce science with a favorite play item! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    4. Carrie

      April 12, 2012 at 6:11 pm

      What a fun experiment. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday! I hope you are having a wonderful week!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    What are you looking for?

    JOIN US!

    Get new experiments straight into your inbox every week!!

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    .

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Science Sparks - FREE science experiments for kids

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Services
    • Media Kit
    • FAQ

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Science Sparks - Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd