Golf Balls and Their BounceAlexandra Murphy

When a golf ball is dropped from a controlled height, how many seconds will it take for it to bounce 5 times?Statement of the problem

This is the question that your experiment answers2

Project OverviewGolf balls come in all different models of design, patterns, colours and prices The aim of this experiment is to test to see which priced ball has the best bounce by dropping the ball from a controlled height and timing to see how long it takes for the ball to reach 5 bounces.

Research

Each brand of golf ball is entirely different to another brand of golf ball. Position of dimples, features of design, colours and their prices make each golf ball brand and golf ball unique as one is never the same as the other. Golf balls are intended to bounce as this helps aid in their trajectory and distance they will travel when being used in a game

Summarize your research in three to five points.

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Research Golf balls today can be purchased containing different layers to suit the players needs but all still include rubber inside of them to help aid in the balls bounce. Dimples are also included on golf balls as they create turbulence, or mixed airflow, which, if done right, reduces drag (Life Science, 2013)

Figure 2: Layers of a Golf Ball (Sports n Science, n.d)

Figure 1: The affect dimples have on a Golf Ball (Life Science, 2013)

Research

Although further research into this topic of study states that this test becomes inconclusive as the results only show how high the ball will bounce when dropped from a controlled height and does not factor in the speed of impact onto the ball that would be done in a game through the club swinging onto the ball, the test still is able to give us an idea on the level of bounce in different priced balls and the test can be used to see how fast it will come off a putter (Frankly Golf, n.d).

Variables

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The most expensive golf ball out of the 4 being tested will have the best bounce Hypothesis

Write hypothesis before you begin the experiment. This should be your best educated guess based on your research.8

MaterialsMaterials (detailed list)Quantity (be specific)Golf Balls of different prices 4A table to be used as the controlled height the balls will be bounced from1A stopwatch on a mobile phone to time how long it takes for the ball to bounce 5 times1Work book to record data found1Mobile Phone to take videos and photos of the test being done1

Procedure

List all of the steps used in completing your experiment.Remember to number your steps.Include photos of your experiment.10

Procedure

Data/ObservationsBallBrandPrice123Average (seconds)1Optima$1.002.742.862.762.782Wilson$14.952.52.472.522.493Burner$25.002.682.892.542.704Nike$66.002.672.532.522.57

How many seconds it took before the ball reached 5 bounces

Table of Results

Data/ Observations

ConclusionWhen looking at the table of data collected and at the graph of how many seconds it took each ball to bounce 5 times for each attempt, the conclusion is able to be made that the Wilson brand golf ball had the best bounce out of the 4 balls averaging 2.49 seconds for 5 bounces. As the bounces wanted out of the balls are short and fast and not long and slow so that the ball travels a further distance, the Wilson golf ball provided the shortest amount of time to complete the 5 bounces.The Wilson ball was the 2nd cheapest brand out of the 4 tested at a price of $14.95, which showed that purchasing the most expensive golf ball which in this test was the Nike brand ball which cost $66.00, will not automatically ensure you the best bounce on your ball.

Brief summary of what you discovered based on resultsIndicate and explain whether or not the data supports your hypothesis

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ConclusionThe starting hypothesis was for the most expensive ball to have the best bounce. The results presented made the hypothesis false as they showed that the 2nd cheapest ball had the best bounce out of the 4 tested. Although the most expensive ball which was the Nike, averaged the 2nd best bounce out of the four tested, it still did not measure up to the average seconds of bounce created by the Wilson golf ball. When swinging onto a golf ball, the speed of impact on the ball will have more of an affect on how far the ball travels in distance and how much it will bounce. By doing this test and not factoring in the speed of impact onto the ball, the results then become inadequate to finding the bounce of a ball when being swung on at a high speed for greater length and bounce. However the test was still useful as it showed what heights golf balls will reach when being bounced from a controlled height and the results will help aid in being able to see how fast the golf ball will come off a putter.

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ConclusionFor this experiment to be conducted in the future, recommendations could be made to further its results. A measured height could be used to drop the balls from for example dropping them from 1 metre, the ultimate height that the ball reaches could be recorded to see how high each golf ball can get and the 4 most expensive brands of gold balls on the market could be tested against each other to see which ball creates the best bounce or which ball creates the greatest height.