technifyed
Weekly list
Opportunities
Learn
ProjectsPrepareAI toolsGet the weekly list

Popular: InternshipsScholarshipsFree coursesInterview prep

Physics · Mechanics

Investigate how temperature affects the bounce of a ball

Chill and warm identical balls and measure how bounce height changes with temperature.

  • DifficultyEasy
  • Estimated time1 day
  • BudgetUnder ₹250
  • ClassClass 7–10
  • TeamSolo or up to 2
  • You needHousehold materials

Prerequisites: None beyond your class work

Original · by TechnifyedInvestigationScience Fair ProjectBeginner friendlyLow costResearch oriented

My projects

Overview

Chill and warm identical balls and measure how bounce height changes with temperature.

Skills you will use

Fair testingGraphing

Safety

  • Hot surfaces and liquids can burn. Use tongs or oven gloves and let things cool before touching them.

Materials and tools

  • Three identical rubber or tennis balls
  • Freezer and warm water
  • Metre scale on a wall
  • Phone camera
  • Thermometer

Tools and software

Phone slow-motion camera

Expected costUnder ₹250About ₹100 at most, less if you borrow parts
Estimated duration1 day4 build steps, plus the report

Step-by-step roadmap

  1. Start

    You will finish with: a graph showing bounce rising with temperature and an explanation using energy loss.

  2. 1

    Prerequisites

    Nothing special to know first. Then collect the 5 items in the materials list.

  3. 2

    Learn

    Read up on mechanics: coefficient of restitution, elasticity, energy. Your textbook chapter and one short video are enough.

  4. 3

    Plan

    Write your question, your hypothesis and the one thing you will change. Draw the table you will fill in before you start.

  5. 4

    Build

    1. Keep one ball in a freezer, one at room temperature and one in warm water for 30 minutes.
    2. Drop each from 1 m beside the scale and film the bounce.
    3. Read the rebound height from the video; repeat five times per ball.
    4. Plot bounce height against temperature.
  6. 5

    Test

    Repeat every reading at least three times and check the result against what the science predicts.

  7. 6

    Document

    Record every reading with its unit, photograph the setup and draw a graph of the result. Report structure

  8. 7

    Present

    Explain the question, the method and the graph in two minutes; keep the setup ready to demonstrate. Presentation structure

  9. 8

    Publish

    Share the report and photos with your class, a science fair or your school magazine.

Expected outcome

A graph showing bounce rising with temperature and an explanation using energy loss.

Other versions of this project

Advanced version

Calculate the coefficient of restitution and the percentage of energy lost at each temperature.

Ways to do this project

Text marked "You write this" is a prompt for your own work; everything else is specific to this project.

Problem
You write thisWrite your question as: How does [what you change] affect [what you measure]?
Hypothesis
If a ball is warmer, then its rubber is more elastic and it bounces higher.
Variables
Independent: ball temperature. Dependent: rebound height. Controlled: drop height, surface, type of ball

Materials and procedure are in Materials and the Roadmap.

Observation table

You write thisDraw a table with one column for what you change, one for each repeat reading and one for the average.

Graph
You write thisPlot what you changed along the bottom and what you measured up the side; use a bar chart for categories and a line graph for numbers.
Results
You write thisState what the graph shows in one or two sentences, with numbers.
Conclusion
You write thisSay whether the result supports your hypothesis and why you think so.

Display board

  • Title and your name
  • Question
  • Hypothesis
  • Materials
  • Procedure (with photos)
  • Data table and graph
  • Conclusion
  • What you would do next

Questions judges ask

  • What would you change if you did this again?
  • What was your biggest source of error, and how did you reduce it?
  • Where is this idea used in real life?

Working as a team

Solo or up to 2. Suggested roles:

ResearchSetup and measurementData and graphsDocumentationPresentation

Report and presentation

Report structure

  1. Title and question
  2. Background: the science behind it
  3. Hypothesis
  4. Materials
  5. Method (steps, with a diagram or photo)
  6. Observations (table)
  7. Results (graph and calculation)
  8. Sources of error
  9. Conclusion
  10. What you would do next
  11. References

Presentation structure

  1. The question
  2. Why it matters
  3. The idea behind it
  4. Setup (photo)
  5. Method in three steps
  6. Results (one clear graph)
  7. What the result means
  8. Errors and limits
  9. Conclusion and next step

Viva questions

Prepare your own answers to these before you present.

  • What is the aim of your project, in one sentence?
  • What is the principle behind it?
  • Why did you choose these materials or tools?
  • What result did you get, and was it what you expected?
  • What went wrong and how did you fix it?
  • How could this be improved or used in real life?

Resources

PhET interactive simulationsphet.colorado.eduNCERT textbooksncert.nic.in

Source and attribution

Original

Written by Technifyed. Free to use for your own school or college project; write the report in your own words. Added 1 Oct 2026.

Similar projects

More Physics projects

Physics · Mechanics

Calibrate a spring and build a newton meter

Stretch a spring with known weights, plot the graph and turn it into a force meter you can use.

  • Beginner
  • 1–3 hours
  • Under 250
Experiment · Household materialsView

Physics · Fluid Mechanics

Build a hydraulic lift with syringes

Connect two syringes of different sizes and show how a small push lifts a large load.

  • Easy
  • 1 day
  • Under 250
Working Model · Household materialsView

Physics + Environmental Science

Build a solar oven and measure its efficiency

Make a box cooker from cardboard and foil and track how hot it gets compared with open air.

  • Easy
  • 1 day
  • Under 250
Working Model · Household materialsView

Same tools

Physics · Electromagnetism

Electromagnetic braking in a copper pipe

Time a magnet falling through copper, aluminium and plastic pipes and show how eddy currents slow it.

  • Intermediate
  • 2–7 days
  • 250–500
Working Model · Household materialsView

Sports and Exercise Science + Physics

Analyse a sports technique with video

Film a bowling action, a jump or a throw in slow motion and measure the joint angles and speed.

  • Intermediate
  • 1–2 weeks
  • Free
Data Analysis · A phoneView

Aerospace Engineering + Physics

Measure the thrust of a water rocket

Build a static test stand and measure thrust against time for different water fills.

  • Intermediate
  • 1–2 weeks
  • 250–500
Experiment · Household materialsView

Two-subject alternatives

Materials, Energy and Other Branches + Physics

Compare insulation materials for a cool box

Wrap identical cups in different materials and find which keeps water hot or ice cold longest.

  • Easy
  • 1 day
  • Under 250
Experiment · Household materialsView

Civil Engineering + Physics

Build and load-test a spaghetti bridge

Design a truss bridge from dry spaghetti and glue, then load it until it fails and compute its efficiency.

  • Easy
  • 2–7 days
  • Under 250
Engineering Design · Household materialsView

Same difficulty and budget

Environmental Science · Water

Build a solar still to purify water

Make drinking-quality water from salty water with sunlight and measure how much you get.

  • Easy
  • 1 day
  • Under 250
Working Model · Household materialsView

Enter your email and the official page opens. Phone is optional.

We email you a code to confirm the address. We save your email, and your phone number if you add it, to send you this link and, if you tick the box, the weekly list. Under 18? Ask a parent or guardian first. How your details are used.

Open official page