Abstract:

This work presents a didactic proposal for determining the coefficient of restitution of a ping pong ball by performing a practical work.

Information and communication technologies (TIC) are part of our day to day. The low cost of digital cameras, in the market, as well as cell phones, makes these devices available to almost all of our students. Experimenting with the possibilities that these tools provide us and learning their management is an important ally in the significant learning of some educational topics.

The cell phone or the digital camera represent another resource in the classroom to observe, acquire knowledge and communicate. Its use with the complement of the software suitable for the edition and treatment of image, makes this tool a powerful means to obtain and record data.

We propose in this work the recording of a video of a few seconds and then extract by using the free software TRACKER the parameters that govern the movement of a ping pong ball and perform an analysis of them, and finally calculate the value of the coefficient. The most important thing is not the intensity of the images but the resolution of them. Keep in mind that lighting should be adequate to avoid shadows that lead to poor results in the determination of parameters.

In addition to the parameters obtained, the software offers a wide range of options in the form of tables and graphics.

Keywords:

Digital camera, cell phones, technologies, tracker.