Conservation Of Energy Lab

The Conservation of Energy lab performed in class measured physical characteristics, the actual conservation of energy in idea circumstances, and the energy that is lost in the bounce of a variety of balls. The objects that were measured included a golf ball, ping pong ball, racquet ball, billiard ball, marble, and tennis ball. As a group it was required to write a hypothesis related to measurements of mass/weight, energy lost and energy change from the bounce. The group predicted that the billiard ball would have the most mass, weight, and density, while the tennis ball would have the most volume. Also was predicted that the ping pong ball would loose the most energy, and while performing the experiment the higher the top of the drop was

Hypothesis was that the ping pong ball would loose the most energy, which ended up being an incorrect prediction. To start this section of the experiment the mass was needed, which was found previously in Section A. Then the group took each ball, dropping it from a height of 2 m, and using a stopwatch to measure the time it takes for the ball to hit the ground. The times that the ball took to hit the ground were not 100% accurate due to human error which could alter the exact energy results. After gathering that data then the group was able to calculate the final speed by the formula: vi+at. The initial velocity being zero, acceleration being 9.8 m/s^2, and time alternating between the times given according to the different balls. Next was the calculation of the potential energy, the formula being: mgh. Mass varied for every ball while the gravity was always 9.8 m/s^2 and the height was always 2m. Then the calculation of kinetic energy, the formula being: 1/2mv^2. The mass and velocity varying. After figuring all of the energies the experiment wanted us to the group then calculated the energy lost during the drop. This was figured by subtracting the kinetic energy from the potential energy, then to find the percentage lost for easier readings the group took the lost energy of the ball and divided it by potential energy of the same ball. The results were shocking to our group and not what was predicted. Results showed that the billiard ball had the greatest potential energy and the ping pong ball had the least. The results were the same when calculating the kinetic energy. The golf ball lost the most energy, the group believes that this was caused due to the potential energy of the golf ball being so high and the kinetic being low. The golf ball energies also were farther away