Lab—Basketball Velocity

Investigation Question:
What is the velocity of a basketball rolling down the hallway?

Materials:
● Basketball
● Meter Stick
● Stopwatches
● Post-its

Procedure
1. Find a frame of reference, or origin on the hallway.
2. Use a meter stick to measure points that are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8
meters away from the origin. Make sure that these points and the
origin form a straight line.
3. Mark each point with a post-it.
4. Roll a basketball from the origin, across the 6 other points, to the
 point 8 meters away.
5. Use a stopwatch to measure the time it takes for the basketball to
roll from the origin to each point.
6. Repeat this trial for four more times.

Data:
Time vs Position: Trial 1 Table
Position (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Time (s) 0.55 0.96 1.16 1.32 2.33 3.41 4.7

Time vs Position: Trial 2 Table

Position (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Time (s) 0.41 0.58 1.12 1.26 1.72 3.78 5.2

Time vs Position: Trial 3 Table

Position (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Time (s) 0.46 0.67 1.13 1.35 1.53 2.06 3.8

Time vs Position: Trial 4 Table

Position (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Time (s) 0.52 0.63 1.1 1.54 1.87 2.47 3.4
 Time vs Position: Trial 5 Table
Position (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 8
Time (s) 0.51 0.81 0.87 1.7 1.8 2.53 3.5

Analysis:
The average velocity of the rolling basketball can be calculated using the
equation of ∆x/ ∆t (m/s), where x is the position and t the time. For
example, in the first trial, it took the basketball 0.55 seconds to roll from
the frame of reference to the 1st point, which is 1 meter away. Thus, the
velocity is 1/0.55 or 1.82 m/s. It took the ball 0.96 seconds to roll from
the frame of reference to the 2nd point 2 meters away. Thus, the velocity
is 2/0.96 or 2.08 m/s. Using these calculations, we can find the average
velocity by dividing the sum of 1.82, 2.08, 2.59, 3.03, 1.76, and 1.70 m/s
with 7, acquiring an average velocity of 1.85 m/s for the first trial.

Average Velocity of Rolling Basketball

Trial 1 2 3 4 5
Average Velocity (m/s) 1.85 2.54 2.72 2.55 2.52
Average Velocity Obtained from 2.44
5 Trials (m/s)

The graph below displays all of the data points collected from the five
trials. From the line of best fit, it can be determined that the y-intercept is
1.8 meters, which is inaccurate because we do not start rolling the
basketball 1.8 meters away from the frame of reference. Instead, the
y-intercept should be 0 meters. The slope of the graph, which is around
2.44 m/s, can be estimated using two points from the graph, such as (1,
0.55) and (2, 0.96) from Trial 1, and dividing ∆x with ∆t.

Conclusion:
The velocity of a basketball rolling down the hallway is 2.44 m/s. This is
calculated from the data we collected from our five trials. As we input
these data into the equation of P(m) = aT(s) + b, we are able to obtain the
unknown variable and slope, a. Here, P stands for position and T for
time. The velocity of the rolling basketball is expressed as a, and its unit
is m/s. In this equation, b should be 0 because the basketball starts off 0
meters from the origin. We find that the slope of the graph is 2.44,
obtaining the velocity of the rolling basketball.

A room for improvement and uncertainty in our experiment is that the

force with which the basketball is pushed differs in every trial. This can
change the velocity of the rolling ball. For example, if the basketball is
pushed with more force, it would travel down the hallway more quickly
than if it is pushed with less force. We were able to reduce this
uncertainty by conducting up to 5 trials.

Through this experiment, I was introduced to one dimensional

kinematics. I also learned the concepts of the frame of reference,
position, and displacement. A frame of reference is the origin that a
student can choose to measure an object from. A position is the length
measurement of an object with respect to your chosen reference point.
Displacement is the change in position of an object, expressed as ∆x, or
x final - x initial.