Stephanie Mulder Haley Williams

History Softball was started in 1887 when two colleges played baseball indoors with boxing gloves and “soft balls.” In 1926 it was officially named softball. Minor changes have been made since then in the field size and base spacing. The biggest changes that were made were the advancement of equipment and the philosophy of softball. It really depends on how aggressive the team is. The Atlanta, Georgia Olympics in 1996 was the first year softball was in the Olympics.

Motion People move around a lot in softball. They move in straight lines and change directions. The ball is the focal point of the game. AthleteBall Bat

Speed To measure the speed of a person running from first to second base, many people use a radar gun. A person can also measure the speed by using a stop watch to see how long it took the runner to run from first to second. With that information they can take the distance from first to second and divide it by the time it took them to travel the distance for the speed. D ST Speed = Distance / Time Speed = 60 feet / 3.5 seconds Speed = ft./sec.

Acceleration Acceleration is important in softball because runners need to advance to the next base and fielders need to charge the ball. It can be increased by exerting more force as the runner leaves the base or the how quick the fielder gets to the ball. The acceleration from the runner going from first to second was 4.91 ft./sec./sec. A = V f – V o time

Momentum The momentum of the person running from first to second is kg/ft./sec. P MV Momentum = mass x velocity

Newton’s 1 st Law Once a ball is hit, it will eventually stop because of the friction of the ground, it hitting a fielder’s glove, or air resistance will gradually slow it down.

Newton’s 2 nd Law The softball will always have the same amount of mass in the same age group, so the only variable that will change the acceleration of the object is the force applied. Increasing the force will obviously increase the acceleration. F aM

Newton’s 3 rd Law When batting, the bat applies more force than the ball coming towards the plate so the ball goes in the opposite direction.

Forces Batting is an unbalanced force. You intend to apply a greater force in the opposite direction of the pitch to send the ball into the field of play. Bat 100 N Pitched Ball 50 N

Weight There are no weight classes in softball. Differences in weight do not really affect the game very much. The only thing it might change is if a catcher has more weight and can resist a larger force coming at her when the runner is sliding into her for a play at home.

Friction Friction plays a huge part in sliding. The greater the amount of friction, the shorter distance the athlete will slide. A moderate amount of friction is needed when running to give the runner traction to advance to the next base.

Work Batting is an example of work because the batter swings and when the ball hits the bat it goes in the same direction as the bat. Throwing is an example of doing work because the fielder takes back her hand and then moves it in a forward direction and the ball goes in that same direction.

Power When throwing, the power is usually around 15 watts. When batting, the power can be around 60 watts.

Machines A softball bat is an example of a simple machine. It is a third class lever. There are many different types of pitching machines, but each pitching machine combines different simple machines to make a compound machine. Fulcrum Effort Resistance

Energy Conversions A batter goes from potential energy to kinetic energy when swinging. A fielder charging a ball hit to them goes from potential energy to kinetic energy once they charge the ball.

Calories During a one hour of softball, a person typically burns about 342 calories. Softball Softball

Gravity Playing on the moon would be very difficult. The pitcher could throw it and the batter could hit it, but it would take a longer time for the ball to come down. The ball would be suspended in the air for very long periods of time. All of this is due to the reduced amount of gravity on the moon compared to Earth.

Improving Performance Physical strength is a major key because all of the forces are provided by the player and the stronger the athlete is, the more force they can apply. Improved bat technology helps in the rebound effect. Newer bats will absorb energy from the pitch and release it into the batter ball, which results in greater distance. Improved cleats added friction between the player and the ground which results in improved acceleration.

Works Cited Bella Online. The History of Softball. 18 December Calories Burned. Health Status. 28 December Hatch, Carlson Named to Big West’s Softball All- Conference Team. Utah State Today. 17 December