Basketball Nina and the Neurons

# If you got a question and you don't know where to go

# Ask Nina for some help cos she's got a sideshow

# She makes sense of our senses while helping all her fans

# By doing her experiments with potions and with bangs

# Touch your tongue

# Fingers

# Eyes, ears

# Nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Luke helps us with our eyes and Felix with our touch

# Olly sniffs out smells and scents and Belle she hears so much

# Bud is Olly's brother, he helps us with our taste

# They're Nina's little Neurons and they're coming to your place

# Touch your tongue, fingers

# Eyes, ears, nose

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Nina and the Neurons find out what you need to know

# Oh, yeah! #

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Hello there. I am seeing how many times

I can bounce this ball. Here we go.

One, two, three, four...

BEEP

I hear a beep, I see a flash. I wonder what they're going to ask.

-BOTH: Hi, Nina!

-Hi.

We've got a question for you.

Why is a ball so bouncy?

That's a great question.

Why are balls so bouncy?

Bouncing balls is great fun. But what makes them bounce?

Why not come down to my lab and we'll investigate?

BOTH: See you soon. Bye!

Bye.

Well, I'll need some help to answer this one.

And I know just who to ask. OK, Neurons, time to get to work!

ALL: Neurons at the ready, Nina.

OK. Today's question is, why are balls so bouncy?

Which Neuron will be most useful in helping us find the answer?

ALL: Me!

Will it be fabulous Felix?

I can help so very much if you need the sense of touch.

Will it be beautiful Belle?

I send messages from brain to ear.

If there's a sound I'll help you hear.

Will it be lovely Luke?

For looking or seeing, day or night,

I'll help you with your sense of sight.

Will it be awesome Olly?

If it's pongy or whiffy, but you can't tell,

my messages help your sense of smell.

Or will be baby Bud?

Sour, salty, bitter or sweet,

I'm your taste buddy whenever you eat.

It's Luke!

CHEERING

ALL: Go, Luke, go, Luke, go, Luke, go, Luke, go, Luke.

Go, Luke!

Cool, Nina! I'll be looking out to help ya!

Today's question is, why are balls so bouncy?

As we can see a ball bounce, Luke, our sight Neuron,

will help us.

But stand by, Neurons, I have a feeling I may need help

from all of you. I must get the lab ready

before the experimenters arrive!

Connor likes playing in the garden.

Sarah-Louise likes dancing.

Balls is fun.

We like bouncing balls very high.

But they both want to know, why are balls so bouncy?

So, today, for one day only, Sarah-Louise and Connor

become The Experimenters!

Hi, guys!

BOTH: Hi, Nina!

Welcome to my lab and thank you for your great question,

why are balls so bouncy?

To find out the answer, let's start by using our senses.

ALL: Whoop-whoo! A senses experiment.

We're ready, Nina!

We have some balls here.

Let's give then a bounce and see what happens!

Let's bounce!

Yay!

Oh, I love that bouncy noise!

These balls are definitely bouncy.

But they bounce so fast

it's hard for us to see what happens.

Let's look at a ball bouncing slowly.

Look over here.

A special camera has taken these pictures

and then slowed them down so we can see what is going on.

Wow! When you slow things down,

you can see everything much better!

Can you see what happens to the bottom of the ball

-when it bumps onto the floor?

-It goes flat.

Yes, the ball gets squashed when it bumps onto the floor.

But what happens next?

Does the ball stay squashed?

-No!

-You're right. It only stays squashed for a moment.

So after it has bumped onto the floor

and been squashed,

it goes back into shape -

and it's this change of shape

that is a clue to find out how a ball bounces.

Let's take these balls back.

We will try to squash these balls like this.

Oh! It's quite hard.

How are you getting on?

It's really, really hard.

It is! Does it feel like the ball is pushing back against us?

-Yes!

-That's exactly what's happening.

When a ball bumps onto the floor, it's squashed at the bottom,

then goes straight back into its round shape.

As the ball goes back into shape, it pushes against the floor.

It's this push that makes a ball bounce.

So, when a ball bumps onto the ground,

it gets squashed at the bottom.

But the ball goes straight back into shape!

Remember, Nina, we should be very careful

if we bounce balls inside.

You're right, Felix!

Why do balls bounce better on the playground than the grass?

Balls bounce better on the playground.

Let's do another experiment to find out more.

I know some expert ball bouncers who can help us.

Where do you think we're going today?

Maybe it's a playground.

Nina said we'll meet people who are experts at bouncing balls.

Then it has to be a playground!

Look, we've arrived!

This looks like a very different sort of playground.

So we want to find out why balls bounce better in the playground

than they do on grass.

We've come to this basketball court to find out why.

Basketball is a great sport

and the players have to bounce the ball a lot.

Yay! Hee-hee!

Wow! Look at how they bounce the ball!

That is really cool.

This basketball court is hard, like a playground,

and this mat is soft and spongy

like grass.

We will do an experiment to find out

how balls bounce on each of them.

You guys will drop the ball

from the line onto the floor

and we will measure how high they bounce.

First, let's find out what happens

when we drop a ball onto the hard floor.

Connor, go for it.

And...drop.

It dropped about there.

Let me just put a sticker on.

There we go.

And drop it.

I think it bounced about there.

Good dropping.

I think it bounced up to about there.

I think it came to about there.

And...drop it!

Oh, my goodness!

It just came to there.

Drop!

Oh!

Drop it!

I'm sure it went to there that time.

Drop it!

Hee-hee-hee!

It came to there.

Super work.

Well done, guys!

Did the balls bounce higher on the hard floor

or the soft floor?

The hard floor.

That's right. The balls bounced much higher

when they were dropped onto the hard floor than the soft floor.

The hard floor really squashes the ball.

When it goes back into shape,

it pushes against the hard floor and bounces really high.

The soft floor doesn't squash the ball as much,

so it can't bounce as much.

The harder we squash a ball, the more it bounces.

Let's see if the type of floor

makes a difference for playing basketball.

Our players will play some basketball

on the soft mats for us. Let's go.

-Hi, guys.

-ALL: Hi.

Can you start playing basketball on these soft mats, please?

Oh!

-Oh, no, what is happening?

-The ball is not bouncing very well.

You are right. This definitely proves

you need a hard floor to play basketball on.

That's because balls bounce higher on a hard floor, like a playground,

than a soft floor, like grass.

Some balls do not bounce as much as others.

Do you think this ball will bounce?

BOTH: No!

Well, let's see.

Ah, no.

SHE LAUGHS

Why does it not bounce?

That is a very good question.

Time for another experiment.

There are lots of types of ball, made of lots

of different things,

but we will look at balls with air in them.

Let's give these balls a bounce to make sure they're bouncy.

Go for it! Down and catch.

Good!

Are they bouncy?

Yes!

We can't see the air inside them,

but we can feel it. I'll show you.

Put that one here.

Thank you.

Just open this bit up here.

Can you hold your hands out for me, please?

Can you feel the air from inside the ball?

It feels like a balloon.

I love that sound!

SHE BLOWS

That's tickling my cheek!

Lots of balls have the inside them to help make them bouncy.

The basketballs were filled with air, too, like these clear balls.

What do you think will happen now we've let some air out of this ball?

Will it still bounce?

BOTH: No.

Let's try.

-Did it bounce?

-BOTH: No.

You're right.

When the ball was full of air, it bounced really well.

Now it has less air in it, it hardly bounces at all.

Let's find out why.

We can't see air,

so I have filled these balls

with little white beads and we will pretend

the beads are air.

This ball is full of our pretend air.

This ball is only half-full.

We know that the harder it is to squash a ball,

the more it bounces.

Let's give these a squash and see what happens.

Try and give them a squash.

That's it. Have a good feel and a good push.

Oh!

Hm. Which ball was harder to squash?

The full ball.

Yes, if you squash a full ball,

it won't stay squashed

because the air inside will push it back out

and make the ball round again.

That is why it is bouncy.

But when you squash a half-full ball,

it stays squashed because it doesn't have enough air inside it

to push it back into shape so it can't bounce.

# Nina and the Neurons! #

Your question was,

why are balls so bouncy? I think we have answered it.

When a ball bumps to the ground,

it gets squashed at the bottom.

It pushes hard against the floor

and goes back into shape, and that is what makes it bounce.

Balls bounce much better on hard floors than soft floors.

Lots of balls have air inside them

and it is the air that pushes the ball back into shape,

helping it to bounce

and make that lovely bouncing sound!

I hope that has answered your question.

BOTH: Thanks, Nina, bye!

Bye!

If you want to know more about the science that is all around us,

go to the Nina section on the CBeebies website. Have fun!

ALL: On your marks, get set.

Go!

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# If you're itching for some exercise from your head down to your toes

-# Toes!

-Why not try out something new

-# And give it a real go?

-Go!

-# Whenever you are restless and feeling kind of bored

-Bored

# Grab your friends and go outside

# And try a brand-new sport

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Spinning, throwing, running, jumping

# Lots of fun to do

# Cycling, diving, sliding, rolling

# It's really up to you

# If you're wondering how a swimmer swims

# Or a bike can go so fast

# Give it a bash and make it last

# It's time to go get sporty

# Ooh!

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo

# Get sporty

# Doo-be-doop-doop-doo-be-doo. #

And remember, whether it is inside, outside or on a bike,

or in a pool, we can all try something new and get sporty.

See you again soon. Bye!

-ALL: Bye!

-Get sporty!