dribbling

The reason a basketball bounces as it is being dribbled is usually thought to be only due to gravity and the air pressure in the ball. However, dribbling a basketball can be evaluated as changing from potential energy to kinetic energy. The kinetic energy allows the ball to return to the person's dribbling the ball hand. The reason a ball does not continue to bounce infinitely is because as the ball hits the floor some of the energy is changed to heat and sound. This can be explained more in depth by the Second Law of Thermodynamics (The "BOUNCE" Behind the Dribbling).

Dribbling the ball off of the floor can also be considered an elastic collision. This means both the momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.

Dribbling