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For a student who loves sports and is interested in baseball, a science fair project can be created that explores the laws of physics of the sport. Such projects can help students understand complicated lessons in an enjoyable manner. Some science fair projects can be dynamic set-ups at a fair; others will require creative ways to demonstrate how the material was obtained and explained.
How High Can You Throw Different Balls?
Students should use balls of different weight and size–such as baseballs, tennis balls, golf balls and basketballs–and chart how high each can be thrown. They will need to determine the circumference of each ball as well as the weight and then measure how high they can throw it. Students should use something like a school gymnasium and place a paper with measurements marked off or use a stopwatch to determine how high each ball went. This project also encourages students to work in teams. The presentation can involve a scaled down version of the set-up with miniature balls used to mark the heights.
Baseball Pendulum
Creating a baseball pendulum helps students learn about different spins. This project can be created using a baseball with a rubber band wrapped around it and a string tied to the rubber band, creating a pendulum. Students should use a different number of twists on the string and record the number of spins it each attempt generates. For advanced or older students, they can use a stopwatch to time how long a small oscillation takes compared to a larger one.
Bats and Balls
Students can learn why a corked bat creates an unfair advantage by designing a science fair project using different types of bats and hitting balls. Students will need to use aluminum, wood and corked wood bats of varying weights and lengths. With a batter hitting a designated number of baseballs, the distance each ball travels is measured. The distance of the hits is averaged. After completing this project, students will have a better understanding of how materials can generate energy on a baseball. The presentation of this project could use cross sections along with a grid showing where balls landed when hit be each bat.
