TASK: S1 "That's the Way the Ball Bounces"		GRADE 12
STUDENT NAME: _______________________________________________
SCHOOL NAME:________________________________________________			SCHOOL CODE: ___________

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Write your name, school name and school code on the lines above.

The purpose of this task is to investigate and compare the bouncing ability of the materials from which four different balls are made. You will have a total of 45 minutes to complete this task. You may use up to 20 minutes to complete the group work. When your group is finished with the group work, one member of the group should tell the facilitator that you have finished. Then you may go on to the individual work. You may not talk while you are working on those pages.

Your group should have the following materials:

• one set of four different balls (super ball, ping pong ball, racket ball, rubber ball)
• two meter sticks
• masking tape
• piece of string
• calculator balance scales with weights, if necessary

GROUP ACTIVITY

The National Basketball Association has contracted your group to determine what material performs the best for use as a basketball. The prototypes are not the same size as a basketball, but this should not affect your test of their bouncing ability. The NBA will require you to show why the ball you select contains the best material from which to make basketballs. Your group should spend the next five minutes discussing the best procedure to use to accomplish your task. Describe your experimental procedure in the space provided on the following page.

The formulae you may need are:

1. Describe your procedure below.

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2. Using the procedure you designed in step 1, test each of your four balls. Record all the information you collect in the chart below as you test each ball.

   Super Ball
   Racket Ball
   Ping Pong Ball
   Rubber Ball

When you have finished with the work on this page, one member of the group should tell the facilitator that our group has finished its group work. Then do the individual work. Remember that you must work along on those pages. You may not discuss the questions or share information.

INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY

3. Explain the variables you had to control when you conducted the investigation.

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4. Describe factors other than the ones you controlled that might affect the bounce of the ball.

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5. Which ball contains the best material from which to make a basketball? Justify the reasons for your selection.

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6. Explain how you would improve the group's procedure to yield better results if you were going to do this task again.

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7. Describe how this information could be applied in areas other than sports (e.g., industry, construction, etc.).

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