Bouncy and not bouncy
Physics · Early Years · The School
What makes something bounce
Drop a rubber ball on the floor. It bounces back up! Drop a bean bag instead. It just stops still. The rubber ball squashes flat for a moment, then springs back into shape fast. That spring sends it flying back up.
Testing different balls
Collect a few different balls. A tennis ball. A football. A soft foam ball. A bouncy rubber ball. Drop each one from the same height. Watch closely each time. Which one bounces the highest? Which one barely bounces at all?
Heavy does not mean bouncy
You might think a heavy ball bounces best of all. Test it and see for yourself. A heavy ball filled with sand often bounces very little. A light rubber ball can bounce much higher instead. Weight is not what matters most.
What matters is the material
Rubber springs back into shape fast, so it bounces well. Sand and foam do not spring back the same way, so they bounce poorly instead. The material a ball is made from decides how bouncy that ball will be.
Try different floors too
Try dropping the same ball onto different floors. A hard tiled floor. A soft carpet. A grassy lawn outside. The same ball bounces higher on a hard floor than on soft grass, because grass soaks up some of the spring.