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1
Science Fair ProjectDoes the Weight of the Bat Effect How Far The Ball Goes?
Sports Science
Davis Webb & Jackson Meyer
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Statement of the Problem
Which bat will hit a baseball farther a heavier bat or a lighter bat?
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Project Overview
We hit five baseballs off a tee with a heavier bat and five balls with a lighter bat. Then we measured how far each ball went. Then we
compared the results of each bat.
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Research
Using heavier bats provides potentially more power but less bat speed.
Two advantages to using a lighter bat are an increased swing speed and more time to see the ball.
“Many players have tried to make their bats lighter by drilling a hole in the barrel and filling it with cork.”
A lightweight bat provides a hitter the opportunity to hit the ball farther and more consistently. Ed Campaniello a baseball hitting coach in Phoenix, Arizona and former professional baseball
player in the Cincinnati Reds organization recommends that recreational players use lightweight bats.
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Materials
an composite bat 27oz a composite bat 23oz 20 baseballs 1 baseball tee 2 people baseball field measuring tape
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Variables
Independent variable: Bat Weight Dependent variable: Distance the ball goes. Constant variables: batters age, gender, ability, field, temperature,
ball used, tee height, batting stance, and grip on the bat. Control group: Participants who bat with the heavier bat
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Hypothesis
If we bat with the lighter bat the ball will go farther when swinging the lighter bat vs. the heavier bat.
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Procedure
1. Go to Shaw Butte field 2. Find two people with the same age, size, and gender
3. Set up the tee at waist level 4. Hit five balls off a tee with a heavier bat
5. Mark where the ball lands 6. Measure distance of the ball
7.Hit five balls off the tee with a lighter bat 8. Mark where the ball lands
9. Measure distance of the ball 10. Compare Results
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Photos
Add photos of your experiments.
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Data/Observations (Analyzes)
Davis Meters23oz 27oz
Ball 1 59.74 18.5
Ball 2 49.8 56.42
Ball 3 51.39 47.46
Ball 4 37.76 43.29
Ball 5 20.9 39.72
Average 42.79 41.1
Johnny Meters
23oz 27oz
Ball 1 57.6 56.39
Ball 2 57.39 57.78
Ball 3 53.52 53.64
Ball 4 52.39 38.1
Ball 5 34.81 36.58
Average 51.14 48.5
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Conclusion
Our hypothesis proved to be right. Davis had an average with the light bat of 42.79m and 41.1m with the heavy bat. Johnny had an average with the light bat 51.14m and 48.5 m with the heavy bat.
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Possible Experimental Errors
If I did this experiment again there are two things that I would change.
The first possible error is that we would have more participants hit balls.
The second possible error is not hitting enough balls. If we would have hit more balls then our results would have been more accurate.
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Applications and Recommendations
If we were to do this assignment again we would have each participant hit 10 balls with each bat. We also would have three
participants instead of two participants.
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Works Cited
Adair, Robert Kemp. The Physics of Baseball. Third ed. New York Perennial, 2002. Print. Campaniello, Ed. "Questions about Bat Weight and Travel Distance of a Baseball." Personal interview.
26 Jan. 2011.
Kirkpatrick, Patrick. "Batting the Ball." American Journal of Physics. July 2005. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.
<http://ajp.aapt.org>.
Marcus, Adam. "Tip for Casey: To Swing a Faster Bat, Lighten Up That Lumber." Science News,
Articles and Information | Scientific American. 14 July 2009. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. <
http://www.scientificamerican.com/>.
Russell, Daniel A. "Bat Weight, Swing Speed and Ball Velocity." PAWS - Personal Accessible Web
Space - Kettering University. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. <
http://paws.kettering.edu/~drussell/bats-new/batw8.html>.
Watts, Robert ., and Steven Baroni. "Baseball Bat Collisions and the Resulting Trajectories of Spinning
Balls." American Journal of Physics. Jan. 1989. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. <http://ajp.aapt.org/
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