physics: How would you explain how density affects the bounce height of a ball?

Question

bounce height means the height that the ball bounces when it is dropped. i know that density does affect it but how would you put it in scientific terms?

Answer 1

Density does NOT affect bounce height. Elasticity
does.
A metal ball is dense , A marshmellow is not. Neither of them bounce because neither is elastic.
A rubber ball is dense, A pingpong ball is not. They both bounce because both are Elastic.
Notice the difference between "elasticity" and "plasticity".
Plasticity is the ability to change shape without breaking (marshmellow) when force is applied.
Elasticity is the ability to return to the original shape (rubber) after force has been removed

Answer 2

If you have two balls of the same size, dropped from the same height, the denser one will hit the ground with a somewhat greater speed than the less dense one, because of the effects of air resistance. Since the denser ball has more kinetic energy when it hits the ground, it _may_ bounce higher.

That's the only relationship between density and bounce height that I can think of. But that is not really a good correlation, because:

1) Air resistance is determined by size and shape, not just density (a very large wooden ball will fall faster than a very tiny lead ball).

2) Hitting the ground faster does not mean that you'll bounce higher (a 2-inch diameter, dense ball of clay may hit faster than a 2-inch diameter hollow ping-pong ball; but the ping-pong ball will almost certainly bounce higher.

The bounce height is actually more closely related to something called the "coefficient of restitution," which has more to do with how the substance's molecules are bound rather than how dense the substance is.

Answer 3

gravity