Data Analysis

Figure 1

Figure 2

From Figure 1, the graph shows an upward trend from 5ml of borax solution onwards. The slope is flat at the start, when 2.5ml and 5ml of borax solution was used. However, the graph starts sloping upwards from 5ml onwards, with the peak being 0.3m when 12.5ml of borax solution was used.

This can be interpreted that a greater amount of borax solution used increases the height of rebound of the ball, as the height of rebound of the ball when 12.5ml of borax was used is 87.5% higher than that of the ball made using 2.5ml and 5ml of borax. The reason why the balls made with 2.5ml and 5ml of borax solution did not bounce as high as the one made with 12.5ml of borax is probably because there was too little borax that cross-linked with the glue, thus some chains of the glue polymer may not have been properly cross-linked. The polymer would not have as much strength and so did not bounce as high as the ball which had many strong cross-linked chains. The most desirable amount of borax solution to use would thus be 12.5ml, as it produces a ball that can bounce the highest. From the upward trend of the graph, it can be predicted that using even more borax solution may even produce a ball that rebounds to an even greater height.

In Figure 2, the graph also shows an upward sloping line. However, unlike the graph in Figure 1, the line does not have a concave slope, and has a more consistent gradient throughout. This is due to the increases in the height of rebound of the ball being more consistent. The lowest point on the graph is at a height of 0.1m, when a 2% concentration of borax solution was used, and the highest point of the graph is at a height of 0.29m, when a 10% concentration of borax solution was used. This can be interpreted that a higher concentration of borax used is very effective in increasing the height of rebound of the ball, since the latter has a rebound height that is 190% of the former. The most desirable concentration of borax solution to use would be 10%, and like Figure 1, the graph also predicts that an even higher concentration of borax solution used could produce a ball that would rebound to an even greater height. Also, similar to what was explained above, the 2% concentration of borax solution may not be concentrated enough to allow the cross-linking to occur most effectively, hence the ball did not rebound as high as the ball with a 10% concentration of borax solution.

From both graphs, I can conclude that the amount of borax solution used correlates to the concentration of borax solution used, as both show an upward trend. These results prove my hypothesis as the greater the amount of borax solution used, the greater the height of rebound of the ball, and similarly, the higher the concentration of borax used, the greater the height of rebound of the ball. When making the polymer ball, combining both a high amount of borax solution and high concentration of borax solution should produce a ball that will rebound to a very great height.