Besides the material of the object, what causes things to bounce? For example, a bowling ball and a feather won’t bounce (assumption) on a concrete floor. Neither will a flat piece of paper but once you crumple it, there’s a chance it will bounce. Talking specifically about free falling objects, not thrown or anything with force applied to it. Does the distance of the drop also affect if something will bounce?
In: Physics
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When an object hits the ground after falling, the ground imparts force back into the object.
The material of the object is very important in determining whether it will bounce, and how high. A rubber ball, for example, is made of material that will deform when it impacts the ground, then quickly return to its original shape (thus pushing it against the ground). It works in a similar way to a spring – it gets compressed, building up potential energy, then pops back to its original shape, releasing that energy into the ground and pushing itself up, thus ‘bouncing’.
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