Introduction

When I looked into the coefficient of restitution and how it worked I was curious as to what were
the key factors that determined what the coefficient of restitution is. I wanted to know why a certain
object retains more kinetic energy than another. The key factors that affect the elasticity of an object
are the material it is made with, size, shape, air pressure and velocity. The coefficient of restitution
is one of the most crucial factors in almost any sport that affects how much a ball bounces which can
alter the game completely. The Coefficient of restitution could provide disadvantages or advantages
in certain sports if it was higher. However the coefficient of restitution remains the same when
using the same ball.

I decided to research how height affects the coefficient of restitution of an object and how we can
determine the coefficient of restitution. Drop height would be an ideal independent variable as it is
easily measurable and can be adjusted easily. As drop height would be the independent variable the
rebound height would be the dependent variable. Both of these variables are easy to measure and
change. Additionally they can be used to calculate the coefficient of restitution easily.

Due to the fact that we are in a pandemic and it is hard to acquire certain times and materials I had
to adjust the lab to make it work with the materials I had. I used a tennis ball and used tracker
software to analyze the data.

Research Question
Determining the Coefficient of Restitution of a tennis ball

Background
In simple terms the coefficient of restitution is how bouncy an object is. It has to do with how much
energy an object preserves. As the ball will start at a certain height it will have gravitational
potential energy. When released the ball will accelerate by g as the earth's gravitational force pulls it
towards the center. While this is taking place the potential energy is also converting into kinetic
energy. When the ball collides with the ground the kinetic energy converts into elastic potential
energy some of which is absorbed by the surface and turned into sound energy. The elastic potential
energy is then converted to kinetic energy as it goes back up and the kinetic energy is also turning
into gravitational potential energy.

There are three types of collisions which are elastic, inelastic and perfectly inelastic. An elastic
collision when the object has no loss of energy therefore continues to bounce at the same height.
When an object has an elastic collision the coefficient of restitution is 1. This is very rare as an
object almost always loses a certain amount of energy and while it might be small it almost always
does. The next type of collision is an inelastic collision and this is the most common type of collision.
This occurs when an object loses some of its energy but not all and is what occurs with almost every
single ball. For example if you were to bounce a basketball it would bounce but eventually stop as it
loses more and more energy. The coefficient of restitution for an object which has an inelastic
collision is between 0 and 1. The last type of collision is a perfectly inelastic collision. This is when
an object loses all its energy therefore not bouncing back at all. An example of this would be clay
which would usually just morph into another object. An object with a perfectly inelastic collision
would have a coefficient of restitution of 0.
The coefficient of restitution is represented by the symbol e. To calculate the coefficient of
restitution in my lab I will be using the graph of √Drop height vs √Bounce Height and the slope will
be the Coefficient of Restitution. Newton’s law of restitution is:
e=V₂/V₁

The formula for gravitational potential energy is:

Eₚ=mgΔh

The formula for Kinetic energy is:

Eₖ=½mv²

Since the potential energy is converted to kinetic we get the formula:

mgΔh=½mv²

v²=2gh

v=√2gh
Knowing this we can substitute the V₂ and V₁ in the law of restitution which gives us:
√2gh₂
√2gh₁

√h₂
√h₁
The slope of the graph √Drop height vs √Bounce Height will be calculated using:
Δy
Δx
As shown above we determined that we can use the gradient to give us the Coefficient of Restitution.
We can calculate the gradient of the line of the best fit. This is more accurate than using the formula
for each individual value and then calculating the average as it would give us the Coefficient of
Restitution of all heights.

Variable tables

Independent Variable

Variable How it will be changed and Measured

Initial drop height (m±0.005) Dropping the same ball from different heights. I
will use a tennis ball and drop it from five
different heights. Starting at 2m it will be
dropped five times at each height which
reduces by 0.4m increments. It will be
 measured using a meter stick with an
uncertainty of (±0.005) and a marking with a
piece of tape. The bottom of the tape will be in
line with the height on the meter stick. To
ensure the measurements are as precise as
possible, the ball will be above the marking and
the base of the ball will be in line with the
bottom of the tape to ensure that all the trials
are as accurate and precise as possible.

Dependent Variable

Variable How will it be measured? Variables effect on the

formula

Bounce Height of Ball The bounce of height of the If the bounce height of a ball is
ball will be measured using the high the coefficient of
tracker software. All the videos restitution will also increase
will be placed in the software and if the bounce height is low
and the position of the ball will the coefficient of restitution
be plotted on a position time will also be. This is because
graph where the initial value is the coefficient of restitution
the drop height and the and bounce height have a
bounce height is the maximum positive correlation.
value of the first concave in the
graph.

Controlled Variables

Variable Why must it be constant? How it will be controlled

Type of Ball It must be constant as The same ball that is a tennis

changing the ball could alter ball will be used.
data due the different material,
shape, and size which are all
contributing factors to how
much a ball bounces.

Surface Ball is being dropped Changing the surface would It will be dropped on the same
on alter the ball’s bounce height surface which will be marble.
as the surface would also exert
a certain force which would be
transferred into energy.

Wind It could alter how the ball There will be no fans or direct
touches the ground and time it wind sources.
 takes which could alter ball
bounce height

Equipment

Item Quantity Size and Uncertainty

Meter Stick 1 100cm±0.005

Camera 1 N/a

Tennis ball 1 Standard size

Laptop 1 N/a

Masking tape 1 18mm

Method
Set up
1. Use the meter stick to measure 2m on the wall and a mark it using masking tape
2. The camera is set up to be able to capture the ground till the top of the first marking by
doing this we ensure that the parallax error is reduced as the camera is in a stationary
position which would mean that all the data points would have the same parallax error
instead of different

Data collection
1. Drop the tennis ball with the bottom of the ball on the marking
2. Record the ball from the point it is released till it bounces at least once
3. Steps 2-3 were repeated four additional times to give us a total of five trials with the first
height
 4. A mark was made 0.4m lower than the initial mark
5. Steps 2-5 were repeated three times more to give us a total of five heights with five trials
each
Data Processing
1. Upload the video to the tracker software
2. After uploading the video click on Track which will show more options, click New which
will open up a pop up window with more options, then click Point Mass
3. Hover your mouse over the center of the ball and press Shift this will mark the position with
a cross hair
4. Repeat step 3 for each of the frames till the ball has bounced at least once
5. Next press the axis button on the toolbar and place the cross hair in the center of the axes
on the floor, the y-value 0 should be on the corner of the floor and ground of the video and
the x-value is irrelevant
6. Next press Calibration button on the toolbar which opens a pop menu then click New and
then Calibration Stick
7. Next place your cursor on the marking made with tape and press shift, then move the
cursor to the ground and attempt to aline it with the marking made on the tape and press
shift again
8. This will now give you an option to enter a measurement and enter the value of the height of
the tape which was measured earlier while collecting the data
9. After this you should have an accurate position time graph, click on the peak of the graph to
find the initial height and then the second peak to find the bounce height

10. Repeat Steps 1-9 for all 24 remaining videos giving you a total of five trials at five heights

Data
Raw Data table

Bounce Height (m±0.01)

Drop height
(m ±0.005) Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
 2.00 1.07 1.09 1.06 1.05 1.07

1.60 0.87 0.91 0.89 0.93 0.90

1.20 0.67 0.65 0.67 0.69 0.63

0.80 0.47 0.46 0.44 0.48 0.45

0.40 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.25 0.28

Processed data table

Drop height (m Average Bounce Uncertainty for Percentage

±0.005) Height (m) Bounce Height Uncertainty for
Drop Height

2.000 1.07 0.02 0.25%

1.600 0.90 0.03 0.31%

1.200 0.66 0.03 0.42%

0.800 0.46 0.02 0.63%

0.400 0.26 0.02 1.25%

Final Data Table

√Drop √Bounce Max Max Min Min Uncertainty for √ Uncertainty for
Height height slope slope slope slope Average Bounce √Drop Height
(√m) (√m) x y x y Height(√m) (√m)

1.414 1.03 1.409 1.053 1.419 1.013 0.02 0.005

1.265 0.95 0.03 0.005

1.095 0.81 0.03 0.005

 0.894 0.68 0.02 0.005

0.632 0.51 0.637 0.490 0.627 0.530 0.02 0.005

Sample Calculations
Formula Calculation Answer with units

Analog Uncertainty= Smallest Unit/2 0.01/2 ±0.005m

Digital Uncertainty= Smallest Unit 0.01 ±0.01m

Uncertainty for bounce height= 1.09-1.05/2 ±0.02m

Max-min/2

Percentage error = 100×(½ 100×(½×0.4/1.07)=1.9 1.9%

range/average)

Percent accuracy= (1- 100%-(|0.68-0.73|/|0.73|×1 93.15%

(|Measured-Actual|/|Actual|))×100 00)
Graph
Analysis
The Graph shows us that √Bounce Height and √Drop Height are directly proportional. Additionally
they have a strong positive correlation as if one increases so does the other. When all the data points
were put into excel and the line of best fit was found we could calculate the slope or the gradient of
the graph and it would give us the Coefficient of Restitution. This is correct as earlier in the
background we determined that e=√h₂/√h₁=△y/△x. Additionally the graph shows us the
uncertainty of the drop height which is constant and also the uncertainty of each of the bounce
heights. The graph shows us the lines of worst fit. These lines go through the error bars but have
the maximum or minimum gradient. In this graph the red line has the maximum gradient and
yellow has the minimum gradient. Similar to the line of best fit, the slope would be the Coefficient of
Restitution.

Using the formula mentioned above we can determine that the Coefficient of Restitution 0.68 for a
tennis ball. According to the International Scholastic Journal of Science a tennis ball would have a
coefficient of restitution between 0.728 and 0.759. The percentage accuracy between the observed
value from our line of best fit and the expected value of 0.728 is 93.15% which is quite high.
Furthermore the Average percentage error is 4.36% which is very low. This tells us that our data is
fairly accurate and precise.

Conclusion
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the coefficient of restitution of a tennis ball.
After collecting and analyzing data I can confidently state the √Drop Height and √Bounce Height
have a positive correlation and increase by a constant which is the Coefficient of Restitution. The
ball was dropped at different heights which altered the initial gravitational potential energy.
Throughout the experiment the same ball was used and it was dropped on the same surface to
ensure that there would be no other factors to affect the Coefficient of Restitution.

We could see that the gravitational potential energy was higher if the ball was dropped from a
higher height and would therefore bounce higher but we also realize that the ratio remains
constant. This is scientifically due to the energy formula W=GPE=KE where GPE is derived from the
formula, mgΔh and ke is ½ mv². Here we may see that due to the corresponding nature of these two
formulas when the height in the GPE formula increases so does the KE velocity as this is the only
influential variable (mass is constant). Therefore, intuitively it can be assumed that when the final
velocity (derived from the ke formula), increases so will the rebound height of the ball, determining
the relationship between energy and rebound height. When it was released at lower heights it
bounced lower and vice versa. The reason the ratio remains constant is because no matter what
height the ball is dropped from it loses the same proportion of energy as the others. This is why we
get a linear graph with the slope representing the Coefficient of Restitution.

The data is moderately accurate and precise. The percentage accuracy is 93.15% which is very
accurate. The value we got from the graph is 0.68 and the true value 0.728 which are fairly close
together. The graph’s y-intercept is 0.08 which is close to 0. In reality the y intercept is 0 as if a ball
is not released at any height it cannot bounce. This could have been the result of small random
errors or a few systematic errors.The average percentage error is 4.36% which tells us that the data
is precise. Additionally, the overall data is similar to the expected value but clearly has errors that
need to be fixed. If we use the gradient from the line of worst fit with the maximum gradient we get
a percentage accuracy of 99.72% which is extremely high and almost perfect. Additionally the y
intercept is 0.02 which is closest out of the three lines to 0. Using this line we would get a Coefficient
of Restitution far closer to the expected value and it would be extremely accurate but still have a few
errors.

Evaluation
The goal in this lab was to determine the coefficient of restitution of a tennis ball. We did this by
dropping the ball from five different heights and recording the ball bouncing. Those recordings were
then uploaded to the tracker software where we found the bounce height of the tennis ball. All the
data values were then averaged and square rooted as we determined the formula to calculate the
coefficient of restitution is √h₂/√h₁ which would be the same as the gradient of the line of best fit
for the the graph √drop height vs √bounce height. When we did this we got a gradient of 0.68 for the
line of best fit. This is 0.038 lower than the expected value. There could have been several reasons
for this since we did not have the most accurate nor precise measuring devices and other errors
listed in the table below.

What went wrong? Evidence How did it affect the How can it be
results? prevented?

Camera did not record This affected the This could be

the accurate results as the camera prevented by using a
maximum height - can only record camera with a higher
Random certain frames per frame rate.
second. Since the
frame rate is low it
could have missed the
actual maximum
bounce height and
have the height before
or after. and might not
have recorded the
actual bounce height if
it wasn’t in one of the
frames.
 In this image we can
see frames 21 and 22.
When this was in the
tracker software I
found that the height
was identical but it
had moved to the
right. This means the
ball would have gone
up and come to this
position which would
have caused us to miss
the actual maximum
bounce height.

The starting point on When we analyzed the Could figure out

the axes in tracker videos the quality of where the ball lands in
(Systematic) the videos was poor the video and place
and when setting the the axis there.
scale and axes the
light and depth could
have affected the
measurements. This
could have affected all
the data which is why
all our values are
slightly lower than the
expected values. The
CoR we found is 0.68
whereas in reality it is
0.728 and this could
 have caused that.

In both these images

the 0 of the y-axis is
on the ground but is in
different positions.
This would affect all
our data as it would
change the bounce
height. To ensure this
was a systematic error
and not a random one
I mentioned in the
procedure that the
axes should all be in
the same position
which is image 1.

The usage of ball If the ball was used Purchasing a new ball
(Systematic) more or worn down it for the experiment
could alter our data.
Since we were in a
pandemic and lacked
access to several
resources we had to
use an old tennis ball
which could have had
a different CoR of
restitution as a brand
new one. This could
be the reason that the
CoR we calculated is
0.68 and is not closer
I have had this tennis to 0.728
ball for almost 3 years
now and as you can
see it is worn down.
Due to the pandemic I
did not have access to
a new one.
These were some of the key errors that have affected the Coefficient of restitution that we calculated
for the tennis ball. Overall we reduced several errors prior to data collection but due to
experimental limitations we were unable to reduce these. The usage of the ball could be the key
error since the air pressure, material of the ball could result in the Coefficient of restitution being
lower which means our value could in fact be far closer to the actual value of our ball.

Works Cited
“Coefficient of Restitution.” Racquet Research, www.racquetresearch.com/coeffici.htm.
“Coefficient of Restitution.” Coefficient of Restitution - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics,
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/coefficient-of-restitution.
“Collision.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collision.
D. Poupon
Date: January 28. “What Is the Coefficient of Restitution?” Info Bloom,
www.infobloom.com/what-is-the-coefficient-of-restitution.htm.
Dodos, Sanja. “Newton's Law of Restitution: Examples: A Level Maths Revision Notes.” A Level Maths,
26 Jan. 2021, alevelmaths.co.uk/mechanics/newtons-law-of-restitution/#:~:text=Newton's
law of restitution states,or elasticity, of the collision.
Elert, Glenn. “Coefficients of Restitution.” Coefficients of Restitution - The Physics Factbook,
hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/restitution.shtml.
“Coefficient of Restitution.” Oxford Reference,
www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095621817.
wikiHow. “How to Calculate Precision.” WikiHow, WikiHow, 3 Apr. 2021,
www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Precision#:~:text=For this calculation of precision,positive
value of the result.