Why does a ball bounce?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Stored energy from compression
Air inside pushes it back up — Wrong. While air pressure in the ball helps maintain its shape, bouncing happens because the ball's material compresses and releases elastic energy, not just from air pressure.
Stored energy from compression ✓ — Correct! When a ball hits the ground, it compresses and stores elastic energy, like a spring. This stored energy pushes the ball back to its original shape, launching it upward. Some energy is lost as heat and sound, so each bounce is lower. Materials like rubber store more energy and bounce better!
Ground pushes back like a spring — Wrong. While hard ground does exert a reaction force, it doesn't compress like a spring. The bouncing energy comes from the ball compressing and releasing its stored elastic energy, not from the ground.
More Physics in Daily Life questions
- In a warm office that already reads 26 C, which change can make people feel cooler without lowering the thermostat?
- Why might 26 C feel acceptable in a breezy naturally ventilated summer building but too warm in a sealed winter office?
- On a warm humid day, why can the same 27 C room feel much worse once you start sweating?
- Why can moving air make a 27 C room feel cooler without changing the thermometer?
- Which hidden factor can make a desk beside a cold window feel chilly even when the thermostat across the room still reads 22 C?
- In the same 22 C room, why might someone who just climbed stairs feel warm while someone sitting in a T-shirt feels chilly?