Bouncy Ball Lab: Observing, Measuring, Graphing, Interpreting, and Inferring

During this physical science lab, students will drop a bouncy ball from several heights and observe how high it bounces each time. They will record these heights in a data table and then use it to create a line graph. The graph will then be used to answer several questions.

This lab is great for covering several performance skills for a middle-school science student, including linear measurement, recording data, graphing data, interpreting a line graph, and making inferences and predictions. This lab covers all the skills a student would need to complete Station 2 (Ramp and Golf Ball) on the New York State Grade 8 Science Performance Test.

WARNING: It's quite difficult to accurately measure the bounce height of the ball. Have students drop the ball several times from a chosen height and then approximate the measurement. If you have access to video recording equipment (an iPad for example), students can take a video of the bounce and analyze it more accurately.