Polymer Lab Group Investigation

Sizes

My first hypothesis was about the different size balls. I thought that the large ball would bounce the higher than all the others because it has the most mass, and the small one will bounce the lowest because it has the least mass. The large ball bounced the highest out of all of them (14 cm), but the average was the lowest (9 cm). The small ball also had the lowest bounce (10 cm), and it had the same average as the large ball. The medium ball's bounce was right in the middle of the large and small bounces (13 cm), but it had the highest average (11 cm). Therefore, my hypothesis was somewhat correct. I think the results that happened, happened because of the different amounts of glue in the balls as well as the sizes. 

Shapes

My second hypothesis was about the different small shapes. I thought that the football would bounce the highest, because it wouldn't land one of its' flat surfaces because it doesn't have any, and it didn't have a very high chance of bouncing on one of its' two corners. I thought that the cube and the pyramid would bounce the same height, because they would definitely land on one of their flat faces or corners, because there are no round parts on cubes or pyramids. The cube had the highest bounce (13 cm), and it also had the same average (11 cm). The pyramid had the lowest bounce (6 cm), and also the lowest average (4 cm). The football's bounce was right in the middle (7 cm), and it's average was the same. I think the reason these things happened was only because of the different shapes, and nothing else.  

Observations 

Small ball: The small ball was squishy and wet, but it dried fairly quickly. However, it took a shorter time to dry than the medium and large balls. When it was dry, it was soft and solid, and no longer sticky. 

Medium ball: The medium ball was somewhat squishy, and it was really wet, and took a longer time to dry than the small ball, but a shorter time than the large ball. When it was dry, it had the same consistency as the small ball and the large ball.


Large Ball: The large ball was squishy and was the wettest out of all of the balls. It took the longest time to dry out of all three balls. When it was dry, it had the same consistency of the other balls. 

Small Shapes: All the small shapes felt exactly the same as the small ball.