The experiment demonstrates that gravity pulls the rubber ball directly downward toward the ground, as evidenced by the ball bouncing vertically in a straight line rather than moving horizontally, which would suggest a parallel force. The diminishing height of each bounce reinforces that gravity consistently acts downwards, opposing the ball's upward motion after each bounce.
A rubber ball is dropped from the top of a ladder. It bounces on the same spot on the ground several times, each time to a lesser height than the previous bounce, before coming to rest in place.
In one to two sentences, explain how the experiment shows the direction that gravity pulls an object, specifically showing that it does not pull an object parallel to the ground.
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