An AI-supported classroom investigation of energy loss and the coefficient of restitution

Abstract A classroom-based investigation is presented in which students study energy dissipation and the coefficient of restitution of a bouncing ball using smartphone-based acoustic measurements and AI-assisted analysis. Impact sounds from successive collisions are recorded with the smartphone microphone using the Phyphox application, and the resulting time-series data are analysed to extract rebound intervals, heights, and associated energy losses. AI is used as an analytical assistant to support routine data processing, while physical interpretation and verification remain the responsibility of the students. The work focuses on the experimental method, timing-based analysis of inelastic collisions, and the practical integration of AI-assisted workflows into a classroom setting.