1 Science Fair Project Does the Weight of the Bat Effect How Far The Ball Goes? Sports Science Davis Webb & Jackson Meyer

2 Statement of the Problem  Which bat will hit a baseball farther a heavier bat or a lighter bat?

3 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.

4 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.

5 Materials  an composite bat 27oz  a composite bat 23oz  20 baseballs  1 baseball tee  2 people  baseball field  measuring tape

6 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

7 Hypothesis  If we bat with the lighter bat the ball will go farther when swinging the lighter bat vs. the heavier bat.

8 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

9 Photos  Add photos of your experiments.

10 Data/Observations ( Analyzes) DavisMeters 23oz27oz Ball Ball Ball Ball Ball Average JohnnyMeters 23oz27oz Ball Ball Ball Ball Ball Average

11 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.

12 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.

13 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.

14 Works Cited  Adair, Robert Kemp. The Physics of Baseball. Third ed. New York Perennial, Print.  Campaniello, Ed. "Questions about Bat Weight and Travel Distance of a Baseball." Personal interview. 26 Jan  Kirkpatrick, Patrick. "Batting the Ball." American Journal of Physics. July Web. 25 Jan  Marcus, Adam. "Tip for Casey: To Swing a Faster Bat, Lighten Up That Lumber." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. 14 July Web. 25 Jan  Russell, Daniel A. "Bat Weight, Swing Speed and Ball Velocity." PAWS - Personal Accessible Web Space - Kettering University. Web. 25 Jan  Watts, Robert., and Steven Baroni. "Baseball Bat Collisions and the Resulting Trajectories of Spinning Balls." American Journal of Physics. Jan Web. 25 Jan <