Hooked on science: Bouncing balls

If a racquetball is placed on top of a basketball and dropped at the same time and height, which will bounce higher? Will they bounce at the same height?

Materials

* Racquetball

* Basketball

Instructions

STEP 1: Holding the basketball in the palm of your hand place the racquetball on top of the basketball using your other hand.

STEP 2: Hold the basketball with the racquetball on top at about chest level.

STEP 3: Drop the basketball and the racquet ball on top at the same time.

Explanation

The basketball will bounce back to about your waist while the racquetball will bounce above your head. The reason: Some of the energy from the basketball is transferred to the racquetball. Also, the racquetball weighs less than the basketball.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hooked onscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.