Running head: Does flipping a dropper popper affect its bounce?

Does Flipping a Dropper Popper Inside Out Affect Its Bounce Height?
Rogelio Galindo
Dr. Chardon English 101

Does flipping a dropper popper affect its bounce?

Does Flipping a Dropper Popper Inside Out Affect Its Bounce Height?
According to physics, when something is dropped, it will never reach its drop height
unless force is applied to it. This is because everything that is above the ground has gravitational
potential energy due to gravity pulling on it. When it is released, the gravitational potential
energy is turned into kinetic energy, which allows the object to fall (Energy, n.d., pp. 1,2). That
object can never bounce back up to its drop height unless force is added to it. So why can
dropper poppers bounce back higher than their drop height? Team Bruh wanted to know if
turning the popper inside out would affect its bounce back height. The answer is that inverting
the popper does affect bounce height.
Testing this was simple but four people were used to do it right. The first step was to get a
dropper popper, and a metric measuring tape. The test was performed outside on smooth, flat,
concrete. One person held up the measuring tape next to a wall with the centimeter marks visible.
Two more people stood about two feet away so that they could see how high the popper bounced
without interfering. Two people were needed for this because one person might not have been
able to see the bounce height clearly every time. Having more than one person helped to have
more accurate results. Then, the last person held the dropper popper with just their thumb and
index finger one hundred and fifty centimeters above the ground. With their arm outstretched,
they made sure that the popper was not touching anything, but that it was only a few centimeters
away from the measuring tape. They held the popper as flat as possible with the dome facing
down and when everyone was ready, they let go of the popper. No force was added to the popper,
it was simply let go. The two observers looked for the peak of the bounce height and recorded
their observations. This process was done a total of five times to rule out any flukes. After those
five trials, five more trials were conducted. This time, the popper was turned inside out, or

Does flipping a dropper popper affect its bounce?

inverted. With the dome facing up, both thumbs were used to press down on the dome until it
flipped inside out. The person that dropped the dropper popper in the previous trials inverted it
before each trial. The same people did the same jobs as in the previous trials. Then, the popper
was held out 150 centimeters above the concrete with the inverted dome facing up. Without any
added force, the popper was dropped and the height was recorded like before. A total of five
trials with the popper inside out were done to rule out flukes or mistakes. Once finished, the
popper and measuring tape were returned.
Bounce Heights
Popper Shape
Normal
Inside Out

Trial 1
7
196

Trial 2
13
190

Trial 3
21
180

Trial 4
23
193

Trial 5
43
190

Average
21.4
189.8

The data clearly show that flipping the dropper popper inside out greatly increases its
bounce height. The average height for the inverted popper is 189.8 centimeters, nearly nine times
that of the normal popper, which is 21.4.
A simple dropper popper still follows the laws of physics in that its bounce does not
exceed the height that it was dropped from. However, when dropped inverted, the popper can
reach heights much higher than the initial drop, something that other objects cannot do. The
reason that the dropper popper can bounce so high has everything to do with inverting it. The
Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed (Energy, n.d.).
(Hopper Popper, n.d.)When the popper is turned inside out, the force of inverting it is transferred
into the popper. This energy is stored as elastic potential energy in the popper (Hopper Popper,
n.d.). Holding the dropper popper above the ground also gives it gravitational potential energy,
which turns into kinetic energy when it is dropped (Energy, n.d.). What is different is that when it
hits the ground, the popper reverts back to its original shape, and the stored elastic potential

Does flipping a dropper popper affect its bounce?

energy turns into kinetic energy (Hopper Popper, n.d.). That extra energy allows it to soar higher
than the drop point.
While these results show that inverted dropper poppers bounce high, human error can
slightly affect the accuracy. Perhaps if the dropper popper had been completely flat before letting
go, it would have bounced higher. As shown in trials 1 and 5 of the normal popper, the height can
vary and it is probably due to the popper not landing perfectly on the ground. Another possible
source of error could be that the person measuring could not be at eye level with the peak of the
bounce since it was too low or too high.
Nonetheless, bounce height was affected by inverting the dropper popper. The elasticity
of the popper allowed it to be inverted and it created elastic potential energy. This type of energy
is used every day, from sports to car tires. Car tire engineers need to know how elastic their tires
are so that they can be sure that they will not give out under the weight of a car. Tennis
equipment manufacturers are always tweaking the bounciness of tennis balls and racquet strings
to give players an edge out on the court. Elastic potential energy is everywhere, but sometimes
its effects just need to be searched for.

Does flipping a dropper popper affect its bounce?

References
Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2015, from Phun Physics:
http://phun.physics.virginia.edu/topics/energy.html
Hopper Popper. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2015, from Phun Physics:
http://phun.physics.virginia.edu/demos/hopper.html