Ball Dribbling Science: Weekly Science Project Idea and Home Science Activity Spotlight

In this week's spotlight: a sports science that looks at the physics of what is going on when you dribble a basketball. After you push the ball to the floor, the ball meets the floor or court and then returns, but it doesn't necessarily return to the same height. What does the surface of the floor have to do with how a ball bounces when dribbled, how much effort a player has to use to keep the ball dribbling uniformly, and what is going on with the energy of the ball in motion? Put it to the test with a fun hands-on sports science project that lets you observe and measure how balls bounce differently as a result of what's on the ground.

• Bouncing Basketballs: How Much Energy Does Dribbling Take? (full Science Buddies Project Idea)
• Surface Science: Where Does a Basketball Bounce Best? (science activity at Scientific American)