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Justin Yim
Mr. Mills
SPH4US-02
December 22, 2022

Water Bottle Flip Lab

Research Question:
How does the amount of water in a bottle affect the success rate of landing a bottle flip?

Background Research:
The physics behind the water bottle flip involve angular momentum. Angular momentum is
defined as “the quantity of rotation of a body, which is the product of its moment of inertia and
its angular velocity.” In short, angular momentum depends on how fast the bottle is spinning
(angular velocity), and its moment of inertia (how much mass is spread out from a central point).
During the “flip”of the water bottle, the water will spread out throughout the bottle and create a
larger moment of inertia. However, since angular momentum is a conserved quantity, it will stay
constant “unless it is acted upon by an external torque.” In the case of the bottle flip, angular
momentum is conserved. This would mean that when the moment of inertia increases, the
angular velocity of the bottle would have to decrease due to the conservation of angular
momentum. Since the bottle’s angular velocity decreases, it would land upright much easier
compared to another bottle flip with larger angular velocity. Due to this, I predict that having the
bottle filled to around approximately 166mL (⅓). I believe that this will create the largest
moment of inertia, which would slow down the bottle enough to have the greatest landing
success rate.
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Methodology:

Variables:
Independent Variable: The amount of liquid (mL) 0-500mL
Dependent Variable: The success rate of the water bottle flip
Controlled Variable:
- The bottle used:
Reason: Bottles with different sizes will have different moments of inertia. Therefore,
this would affect the success rate of the flip
Method: Throughout the experiment, the same bottle was used, this made sure that the
moments of inertia would change accurately
- The liquid type:
Reason: Liquids with higher density will not be able to move around the bottle as freely
as water. Therefore, this would affect the moment of inertia
Method: Throughout the experiment, the same liquid was used (water). This made sure
that the moment of inertia would change according to amount of volume
- Table surface:
Reason: Surfaces with different materials will affect the success rate of the flip.
Method: Throughout the experiment, the same surface was used. This ensured that the
success rate of the bottle flip was accurate
- Height flipped from:
Reason: Different heights would affect the change in time to complete a flip.
Method: The bottle was flipped from the same height the entire experiment. This helped
with a more precise result

Procedure:
The bottle was placed on the table and grabbed as shown below.
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1. The bottle was flipped using an upward flick motion. Enough force was applied so that
the bottle would make one rotation
2. The success rate of the flip was recorded.
3. The time taken to complete one flip was also recorded. This step was video recorded to
the nearest millisecond for precise measurements
4. Steps 1-3 were repeated 20 times
5. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 50mL of water
6. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 100mL of water
7. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 150mL of water
8. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 200mL of water
9. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 250mL of water
10. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 300mL of water
11. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 350mL of water
12. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 400mL of water
13. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 450mL of water
14. Steps 1-4 were repeated with 500mL of water
Analysis:

Amount of Water (mL) ± 25𝑚𝐿 Success Rate (/20) ± 3 Time taken to complete flip (s) ± 0. 1𝑠

0 0 0.699

50 4 0.901

100 8 1.000

150 14 1.101
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200 9 1.001

250 4 0.899

300 0 0.800

350 0 0.750

400 0 0.701

450 0 0.700

500 0 0.650

Qualitative Observations:
- The bottle’s bottom got dented during further stages of testing. This may lead to a
smaller success rate in landing the bottle
- When pouring water in, some of it did not make it into the bottle. This may lead to a less
accurate result
- After hitting a certain amount of water, it was nearly impossible to land a flip
- The velocity of the bottle was not constant, it slowed down and sped up at times
- The water moved with the bottle’s rotation, spreading out when the bottle was horizontal
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With the collected data, we can see that there is a type of peak towards the 150mL mark. This is
approximately ⅓ of the bottle’s total volume. However, as the bottle gets filled up more than
halfway, it is nearly impossible to land the flip. This is most likely due to the angular velocity
being too high to be able to land flips. In the next table, angular velocity will be compared to the
change in time

Sample Calculations:
Find Angular Velocity:
∆θ
ω = ∆𝑡
2π 𝑟𝑎𝑑
ω = 0.699𝑠 ±14%
ω = 8. 988 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠 ± 14%
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0mL
Angular Velocity Change in Time

5. 839 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 37% 0. 269 ± 0. 1𝑠

7. 795 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 24% 0. 403 ± 0. 1𝑠

8. 770 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 18% 0. 537 ± 0. 1𝑠

8. 988 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠 ± 14% 0. 699 ± 0. 1𝑠

50mL
Angular Velocity Change in Time

6. 283 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 40% 0. 250 ± 0. 1𝑠

7. 834 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 24% 0. 401 ± 0. 1𝑠

7. 867 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 16% 0. 599 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 974 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 11% 0. 901 ± 0. 1𝑠

100mL
Angular Velocity Change in Time

3. 926 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 25% 0. 400 ± 0. 1𝑠

5. 236 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 17% 0. 600 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 731 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 14% 0. 700 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 283 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 10% 1. 000 ± 0. 1𝑠

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150mL

Angular Velocity Change in Time

2. 835 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 18% 0. 554 ± 0. 1𝑠

5. 236 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 16% 0. 600 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 771 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 14% 0. 696 ± 0. 1𝑠

5. 711 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 9% 1. 100 ± 0. 1𝑠

200mL

Angular Velocity Change in Time

3. 926 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 25% 0. 400 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 981 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 22% 0. 450 ± 0. 1𝑠

9. 425 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 20% 0. 500 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 278 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 10% 1. 001 ± 0. 1𝑠

250mL

Angular Velocity Change in Time

5. 184 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 33% 0. 302 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 981 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 24% 0. 425 ± 0. 1𝑠

9. 425 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 20% 0. 500 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 989 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 11% 0. 899 ± 0. 1𝑠

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400mL

Angular Velocity Change in Time

5. 236 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 33% 0. 300 ± 0. 1𝑠

7. 834 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 25% 0. 401 ± 0. 1𝑠

9. 425 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 20% 0. 500 ± 0. 1𝑠

8. 963 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 14% 0. 701 ± 0. 1𝑠

500mL

Angular Velocity Change in Time

5. 271 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 34% 0. 298 ± 0. 1𝑠

6. 283 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 20% 0. 500 ± 0. 1𝑠

8. 195 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 17% 0. 575 ± 0. 1𝑠

9. 666 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠/𝑠 ± 15% 0. 650 ± 0. 1𝑠

Conclusion:
After the data was collected from the experiment and processed into graphs, it was
concluded that the results support the initial hypothesis. One can observe that in the first graph,
the average times the bottle landed increased as the liquid increased. However, it plateaued after
approximately ⅓ of the bottle was filled. Furthermore, the chances of landing the bottle were
close to zero after the bottle was filled up more than halfway. On the graph, the measurements
from 0-250mL measured a type of quadratic equation. However, once the measurements went
from 300-500mL, there was a constant 0. Therefore, the angular velocity must have been too
high for the bottle to land, as shown in the graphs above. Since angular velocity and moment of
inertia are inversely proportional, the one with the least angular velocity created the biggest
moment of inertia. This directly correlated with the amount of times the bottle flip was
successfully completed. The larger the angular velocity, the smaller the success rate was.
However, something that wasn’t accounted for was the fact that the 0mL and 500mL had the
angular velocity constantly increase, rather than decrease like the other trials. This could be
attributed to the fact that liquid was not moving inside of the bottle, causing the bottle to not
have a large enough amount of inertia to slow down the bottle.
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The accuracy of the hypothesis was relatively accurate. After experimenting with the
entire range of the water, the 150mL mark was found to be the most accurate. However, this
experiment was not very precise. Due to the experiment having a systematic error, it is hard to
determine the exact amount where the bottle flip has the greatest success rate. However, due to
the fact that the process was repeated multiple times, there was a relatively high precision. For
future references, it would be quite beneficial to have different people attempt this lab. Due to
the fact that systematic error played a huge role in the experiment, having a wide range of people
attempt this lab would help create an average.
In conclusion, the accuracy of the hypothesis compared to the result was correct. This
was proven by comparing angular velocity vs change in time. Therefore, the accuracy of this
experiment was good. However, the experiment was not as precise. With many systematic and
random errors, it is hard to say that it is precise. Therefore, the precision of this experiment was
low, due to the error being above 10%

Evaluation:

Systematic Errors:

Flipping of the bottle: Due to the human hand not being able to accurately recreate the same flip
each time, the flips of the bottle were random. This would have a high significance on the lab
because the experiment is highly dependent on having consistent flips. A way to improve this
systematic error would be to have a robot try to attempt this lab. However, that would most
likely be too complicated. Another way to fix this error would be to have a wide variety of
people attempt this lab and examine the data. By having a wide variety of people attempt this
lab, the error percent would go down, therefore creating a more precise experiment

Measuring liquid in bottle: When pouring liquid into the bottle, some liquid may have spilt out
due to the method used. This would have a small impact on the overall experiment. However,
this would mess with the measurement of the liquid, creating a less accurate experiment. A way
to fix this would be to use a funnel to make sure liquid doesn’t spill out.

The way the angular velocity was measured: Angular velocity was measured by recording the
bottle’s motion and calculating according to certain positions in time. However, the camera
couldn’t catch the bottle in high quality when going frame by frame, which led to less accurate
measurements. This affected the accuracy and precision of angular velocity slightly. To fix this
error, using a camera that captures more frames per second would be beneficial.

Random Errors:
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Measurement of Liquid: When measuring out the liquid, it was not very precise. The
measurement tool used had an error of ± 25𝑚𝐿. This did not affect the lab by a lot, but did
affect the precision of the lab. This error can be fixed by using a more precise tool to measure.

Bottle getting dented: As the experiment went on, the bottle would get dented at the bottom.
This would affect the surface area of the bottom, creating a less precise experiment. To fix this
error, it would be beneficial to experiment with other types of bottles, perhaps more sturdy ones.
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Works Cited

“Angular momentum | Definition, Examples, Unit, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 7

November 2022, https://www.britannica.com/science/angular-momentum. Accessed 23

December 2022.

“Angular Momentum of a Particle.” Hyperphysics,

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/amom.html. Accessed 23 December 2022.

“The complex physics of that viral water bottle trick, explained.” Vox, 26 May 2016,

https://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11785562/water-bottle-flip-physics. Accessed 23

December 2022.

“The complex physics of that viral water bottle trick, explained.” Vox, 26 May 2016,

https://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11785562/water-bottle-flip-physics. Accessed 23

December 2022.

Sheldon, Robert. “What is conservation of angular momentum?” TechTarget,

https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/conservation-of-angular-momentum.

Accessed 23 December 2022.