Mechanics:
Double Ball Drop

PIRA Class: 1N30.60

Purpose:
To observe the transfer of momentum as a large mass and small mass collide.

Description:
A basketball is dropped simultaneously with a tennis ball directly above it. After bouncing off the floor, the basketball rebounds upward, collides with (and transfers momentum to) the tennis ball. Maximum height ~9 times higher than initial dropping height. (9x is for a perfectly elastic collision)

NOTE: Tennis ball must be directly above the basketball's vertical axis to prevent the ball from flying into the crowd. However if the room has low ceilings, you will probably want the balls to be a bit off axis so that the tennis ball flies off over the students' heads.

You can also use the Astro Blaster to allow stacking multiple balls.

Equipment:
Basket ball and tennis ball, Astro Blaster, Safety glasses

Location:
Shelf 131 (Basketball), 115 (tennis ball), 131 (Astro blaster), 264 (safety glasses)

Extras:
Physics Girl video describing the experiment and its relation to supernova