Rubber Band Stretching

Results

	Graphical Analysis produced an unexpected graph that gave us a scare that our experiment had been

a failure. It showed too much variation in our data for us to state any real conclusion. The average 

distance traveled by our BB was around 9cm. As you can see from our graph, the BB fluctuated drastically from

the mean. 

	This variation could have come from a number of sources. Firstly, it was necessary for the BB to hit 

the center of the rubber band. It if hit to the left/right, the rubber band would not offer enough resistance, and

the BB would slip off the side even if the rubber band could stretch more. Hitting the BB too high or low would 

have the same effect as if we shortened the rubber band to the length of the shorter half. Thus, the rubber 

band would have greater resistance. Switching the rubber band between some trials also could have introduced

variation. The different rubber bands could have different widths, thicknesses, stretch properties, etc., causing 

the maximum horizontal stretch to change. In one of our graphs we have marked where we changed the rubber

bands to demonstrate the effect of the change. In the parts of the graph that had the same rubber band, you 

can tell that there was not a significant difference between different trials. The most drastic changes occurred

where rubber band changes occurred. The placement of the BB when it hits makes the graph look randomly 

scattered. Overuse of a rubber band could have also introduced an unexpected variable. Overuse would result in

a permanent stretch in the rubber band, making it more fragile to breaks and offer less resistance the the BB.