Why does a ball bounce (make answer understandable to kids ages 9-10)
by 
singeranddancer
ANSWERS: 2
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Drop a rubber ball it squashes as it hits the floor. It's bouncy. It wants to return to it's original shape. As it springs back it pushes itself back off the floor.
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Because when the ball hits the floor it pushes against it, and the floor pushes back (one of Newton's laws, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"), so the ball is pushed back up into the air. The harder the floor surface is, the more "pushing power" it has, which is why the ball bounces higher on concrete than on the beach... the sand is softer and can't push back as well.
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