MYP Science Grade 10 Assessment

task: Ball Drop Investigation

Student Name: Nantha Selvyn (Selvyn) Nantha Kumaran

Teacher: Eddie Bywater/ Sangeeta Praveen / Stephen Sweet / Michelle Kim / Denise Besant

Unit Name: Bodies in Motion

Assigned Date: Due Dates:

Criteria B and C

Criterion A: Score: Student Reflection (after the score has been awarded):

N/A

Criterion B: Score:

Criterion C: Score:

Criterion D: Score:

N/A

Targets for learning: ● Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the
mathematical relationship between the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass,
(Power Standards) and its acceleration.

Declaration of Authorship:
I declare this work is my original work and no part has been copied from any other source except where due
acknowledgement has been made.

Signed: Date:

Global Context Focus MYP Statement of Inquiry Key and Related Concept(s)
Scientific and technical innovation How do the relationships among Relationships and movement
various kinematic principles drive
innovations and applications that
enhance movement and safety in our
world?

Rubric: Criterion B
The student can:

7-8 ❏

5-6 ❏

3-4 ❏

1-2 ❏

0 The student does not reach a standard identified by any of the descriptors above.

Rubric: Criterion C
The student came:

7-8 ❏

5-6 ❏

3-4 ❏

1-2 ❏

0 The student does not reach a standard identified by any of the descriptors above.

Approaches to Learning/Teacher Feedback:

Research - Information literacy skills: Finding, interpreting, judging and creating information

Exceeding Expectations

Meeting Expectations

Approaching Expectations

Below Expectations

Student Self-Assessment
 Objective:

To plan and complete a lab to determine how height affects the final
velocity of a ball as it falls under the influence (acceleration) of gravity.

Materials: Timer, Ball, Meter stick or measuring tape

Task:
**This task requires you to complete a criterion B, which includes:
- A clear and testable Research question
- Write the necessary background information (with citations)
- Write a hypothesis (with reasoning)
- Outline all relevant variables adding controlled variables to a table
- Design a logical and safe method

**This task requires you to complete a criterion C, which includes:

- Raw data table
- Processed data table and velocity-time graphs
- Analysis Calculations (including percentage error)
- Conclusion to address the research question
- Evaluation of the method (strengths and weaknesses)
 Criterion B: Inquiring and designing
level Level descriptor
0 The student does not reach a standard identified by any of the descriptors below.
1–2 The student can:
i. state a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
ii. outline a testable hypothesis
iii. outline the variables
iv. design a method, with limited success.
3–4 The student can:
i. outline a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
ii. formulate a testable hypothesis using scientific reasoning
iii. outline how to manipulate the variables, and outline how relevant data will be collected
iv. design a safe method in which he or she selects materials and equipment.
5–6 The student can:
i. describe a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
ii. formulate and explain a testable hypothesis using scientific reasoning
iii. describe how to manipulate the variables, describe how sufficient, relevant data will be collected
iv. design a complete and safe method in which he or she selects appropriate materials and equipment.
7–8 The student can:
i. Explain a problem or question to be tested by a scientific investigation
ii. formulate and explain a testable hypothesis using correct scientific reasoning
iii. explain how to manipulate the variables, and explain how sufficient, relevant data will be collected
iv. design a logical, complete and safe method in which he or she selects appropriate materials and
equipment

Criterion C: Processing and evaluating

level Level descriptor
0 The student does not reach a standard identified by any of the descriptors below.
1–2 The student can:
i. collect and present data in numerical/ visual forms
ii. interpret data
iii. state the validity of a hypothesis based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
iv. state the validity of the method based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
v. state improvements or extensions to the method.
3–4 The student can:
i. correctly collect and present data in numerical/ visual forms
ii. accurately interpret data and explain results
iii. outline the validity of a hypothesis based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
iv. outline the validity of the method based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
v. outline improvements or extensions to the method that would benefit the scientific investigation.
5–6 The student can:
i. correctly collect, organize and present data in numerical and/or visual forms
ii. accurately interpret data and explain results using scientific reasoning
iii. discuss the validity of a hypothesis based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
iv. discuss the validity of the method based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
v. describe improvements or extensions to the method that would benefit the scientific investigation.
The student can:
i. correctly collect, organize, transform and present data in numerical and/ or visual forms
7 -8 ii. accurately interpret data and explain results using correct scientific reasoning
iii. evaluate the validity of a hypothesis based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
iv. evaluate the validity of the method based on the outcome of a scientific investigation
v. explain improvements or extensions to the method that would benefit the scientific investigation.

Criterion D: Reflecting on the Impacts of Science

level Level descriptor

0 The student does not reach a standard identified by any of the descriptors below.

1–2 The student can:

iv. document sources, with limited success.

3–4 The student can:

iv. sometimes document sources correctly.

5–6 The student can:

iv. usually document sources correctly.

7–8 The student can:

iv. document sources completely.

Task Details:
**If you need to use the template given during the formative lab, then please do**

Refer to the Task Specific Clarifications here.

What you need to submit:

Criterion B
A research question - If the height that the ball is dropped from is increased, then would the
velocity at which the tennis ball is falling, increase or decrease?

Background information** - Discuss relevant background information. You will need to do

research in this area and discuss the following:
We will be dropping a tennis ball from different heights and measuring how long it took for
the ball to come down at different heights and how fast the ball travelled when dropped
from different heights, with that data we can then calculate the velocity of the tennis ball
each time it’s dropped from a different height.
A free fall is when an object or a person is falling towards the ground at any height
without anything interfering with the free fall which is why it is referred to as “free fall”.
When an object is in a freefall, gravity causes it to accelerate downhill at a constant rate
and on Earth, this rate is 9.8 meters per second squared (m/s²). The unit (m/s^2) is
meant to represent the acceleration of an object.
According to (Crandell; Woodford), factors that affect the velocity of the falling ball
(forces), will be Gravity because it’s the force that pulls the tennis ball towards the ground
and also causes the tennis ball to accelerate as it falls towards the ground. The other
force that will also be acting on the ball is air resistance/drag because according to
(Nikon) it is the force that impacts an object moving through the air in the opposite
direction. When an object collides with air molecules, friction is formed, which slows down
the object's motion and causes the air to resist it.
The Suvat equation that I will be using is the equation that is highlighted in blue which
solves for the displacement but the equation can be re-arranged to be used for solving
the velocity of the tennis ball as it free falls from a range of different heights.

v = u + at v² = u² + 2aS S = ut + ½at²

S = ½(u+v)t Suvat equations S = vt - ½at²

**All citations must be in MLA format.

Hypothesis - The velocity of the tennis ball will increase as it falls to the ground due to the
acceleration of the ball, caused by the gravitational pull towards the ground. Given that the
velocity of the ball will increase as it falls, I predict that the ball dropped from a shorter height will
take more or the same amount of time to fall as compared to the ball that is dropped from a
higher height will because according to (Frachiolla and Poffenberger) the ball will have more time
to accelerate during it’s free fall from a higher height and the ball that is dropped from a lower
height will not have as much time to accelerate during its free fall.

Variables - listed and justified

The independent variable is the height at which the ball is dropped and the heights are 2
meters, 3 meters, 4 meters, 5 meters and 6 meters.
The dependent variable will be the time it takes for the tennis ball to reach the ground
after being dropped from each of the different heights during each trial.
Controls (5) - in a table:
Controlled variable Reason to control How to control

The tennis ball will be Because different balls have This can be controlled by not
dropped in the experiment. different weights and different dropping any other objects
sizes, which are all crucial and just using the same
factors which can skew the tennis ball for each trial.
results so by using the same
ball for each trial, it will be
accurate data.

The measuring tape was Because different measuring This can be controlled by
used to measure the different tapes might have slightly using the same measuring
heights for each trial. smaller or larger gaps tape for the entire experiment.
between the numbers which
can cause the height at which
the ball is to be dropped to be
slightly different.

The force of gravity acting Because this can affect the This cannot be altered.
upon the tennis ball when it velocity of the acceleration of
free falls. the tennis ball as it free falls.

The air resistance against the This has to be controlled This cannot be altered.
tennis ball while it is in free because if there is less air
fall. resistance, the tennis ball will
fall faster towards the ground
but if there is more air
resistance, then the tennis
ball will fall at a slower rate
towards the ground.

The way that the tennis ball This needs to be controlled This can be maintained by
will be dropped. because if the tennis ball releasing the tennis ball from
were to be thrown towards your hands and dropping it
the ground, then the tennis without any input of force.
ball will fall much faster, thus
skewing the results but if the
tennis ball is dropped from my
 hands without any force being
put in for each trial, then the
results will be accurate.

Method
1. First measure out all the heights that I want to drop the ball from using a measuring tape.
2. Then drop the ball from the different heights that you have chosen five times each.
3. List your data in a data table which has space for 5 trials worth of data for each height
that the ball has been dropped from.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, four more times to get 5 trials or data for each height that the ball
has been dropped from.
5. Once you have all of your data, then put all of your data into a data table in Google
Sheets.
Equipment
1. Tennis Ball - It will be dropped from different heights during the experiment.
2. Measuring Tape - It will be used to measure different heights that the tennis ball is to be
dropped from.
3. Stopwatch - This will be used to measure how long it takes for the tennis ball to fall from
different heights during each trial.
4. Laptop - It will be used to list all the different times that it takes the tennis ball to fall from
different heights during each trial.
5. Google Sheets - It will be used to list all the data into an organized data table.
Safety Considerations
1. When the tennis ball is dropped during each trial, there is a possibility that it can fall on
your or someone else’s head and cause pain or slight injuries.
2. When throwing the tennis ball back up to the person who is dropping it, there is a
possibility that it can fall on your or someone else’s head or hit something else and cause
pain slight injuries or property damage.
3. When tracking the time it takes for the tennis ball to fall, there is a possibility that you
might fall or trip on the stairs due to not being aware of the surroundings which can cause
pain and slight or severe injuries to yourself.

Criterion C

Collecting results
- Collect all required quantitative and qualitative data in an appropriate table (including
heading, title, units, etc.). This should be a 5 x 5 data collection.

Data Analysis
 My percentage error is 81.22%

Conclusion
In my hypothesis, I stated that the velocity of the tennis ball will increase as it falls to the ground
due to the acceleration of the ball and my data proves that the hypothesis is correct as shown in
the second graph above, it shows that as the height that the tennis ball is dropped from,
increases, then the velocity also increases because the tennis ball will have more time to
accelerate in while it's in freefall because according to (The Physics Classroom) the tennis ball
will have a higher velocity when dropped from a higher height even though the acceleration is
always the same because the tennis ball has more time for the velocity to increase with the same
acceleration of 9.8m/s^2.

This steady increase in velocity correlates with the steady increase in the average time it takes for
the tennis ball to freefall to the ground and the steady increase in average time is due to the
height that the ball is being dropped from increased each time because the even though
everything has the same acceleration the tennis ball will take longer to fall if the height it is
dropped from is higher than the previous height but at a certain point, if the ball is dropped from a
higher height it would take less time than usual because of the amount of speed it gains by
freefalling at the same rate of acceleration. The spike in velocity also correlates with the average
time as when the tennis ball caused a spike in velocity, the average time went from 0.9 seconds
to 1.43 seconds and back down to 1.34 and after this spike in velocity, the velocity and time
continued on a steady increase but even with the results seeming normal besides the spike in
velocity, the error percentage was still 81%.

a. Comment on the significance/size of the percentage error (accuracy) - Given that the error
percentage was a very high number of 81%, this means that the skewed results were most likely
caused by human error given that the data shown above seems normal besides a spike in
velocity but otherwise, it’s quite normal and this is why it’s most likely that the error percentage of
81% was most likely caused by human error when measuring out the height that the tennis ball is
to be dropped from and measuring the time it took for the ball to freefall and reach the ground
because the human reaction time isn’t instant which is why my results were skewed.
 Evaluation
The part of the method that contributed negatively to my results was the first step because it was
quite difficult trying to measure out the height that the tennis ball was to be dropped from since
the heights were quite high. It was difficult to hold the measuring tape and not lift it higher or lower
by accident. The part of the method that contributed positively to the experiment was the fifth step
because it helped my group organise our data in a table to be converted into a graph for the
processed data. Another weakness of my method was timing the freefall of the tennis ball
because the stopwatch was started and stopped by a human which isn’t always accurate and it
may have skewed the results by a lot, given that the error percentage was 81% which is very high
as the average error percentage should be around 20%.

The method can first be improved by holding the measuring tape right where the glass railing is to
not mix up the measurements because then the ball could end up being dropped at a lower
height or a higher height which can skew the results altogether and cause the error percentage to
increase if the results are mixed up and completely inaccurate but this can be solved by having
one person on the ground where the tennis ball will be dropped on to hold down to the ground
with their foot and another person at the top who holds the measuring tape itself and lowers it
down.

If my group had more time we would have redone the trials because we believe that wrong
measurements and human error have caused our results to be skewed. We would have taken
more time to carefully measure out the different heights that the tennis ball is to be dropped from
because we might have underestimated or overestimated the heights when using the measuring
tape to measure the heights since we weren’t able to hold the measuring tape completely straight
given how high of a height it was and due to our time constraints.

Works Cited

Crandell, Sierra. “Falling Physics.” Www.aps.org, APS, 2022,

www.aps.org/learning-resources/falling-physics#:~:text=When%20something%20falls%

2C%20it%20falls. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.

Cross, Rod, and Crawford Lindsey. “Tennis Ball Trajectories — the Role of Aerodynamic Drag

and Lift in Tennis Shots".” Twu.tennis-Warehouse.com, 22 Dec. 2013,

twu.tennis-warehouse.com/learning_center/aerodynamics2.php. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.

does, What. “What Does ‘Seconds Squared per Meter’ Mean?” Physics Stack Exchange, 17 Mar.

2021,

physics.stackexchange.com/questions/621835/what-does-seconds-squared-per-meter-mea

n. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.

Frachiolla, Claudia, and Leah Poffenberger. “Falling Physics.” Www.aps.org, 20 Aug. 2023,

www.aps.org/learning-resources/falling-physics#:~:text=Because%20that%20object%20f
 eels%20a. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.

Nikon. “Air Resistance｜Glossary｜Advanced Manufacturing Business Unit and next

Generation Project Division, Nikon Corporation.” Next Generation Project Division,

Nikon Corporation, 2022,

ngpd.nikon.com/en/glossary/air-resistance.html#:~:text=Air%20resistance%20is%20the

%20force. Accessed 24 Sept. 2024.

The Physics Classroom. “Free Fall and Air Resistance.” Physicsclassroom.com, The Physics

Classroom, 2022,

www.physicsclassroom.com/class/newtlaws/Lesson-3/Free-Fall-and-Air-Resistance.

Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.

Woodford, Chris. “Forces and Motion: A Simple Introduction.” Explainthatstuff.html, Explain

that stuff, 30 Sept. 2018, www.explainthatstuff.com/motion.html. Accessed 24 Sept.

2024.