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Obtain two balls of different sizes and mass, perhaps a tennis ball and a basketball. Place the tennis ball directly on top of the basketball. Release both balls simultaneously from approximately waist high. What do you think will happen to the tennis ball?
Nothing special, both balls will bounce back to the same height they were dropped from.
The tennis ball will hit the floor at the same time as the basketball and bounce back to a height less than it started due to friction.
The tennis ball will bounce up to a height much higher than from where it started.
This activity was developed by Jacqueline Slay, Largo High School, Largo, MD
