Science Fair Project Baseball Science Fair Gabriel Zubia

Statement of the Problem When I change the speed of the pitch it will affect how far I hit the ball.

Project Overview Everybody loves Americas Pastime, Baseball. One of the most exciting plays is baseball is the Home Run. The goal of this project is to determine what makes the ball travel farther when it is hit by the bat. Many factors are involved, however the two factors this project will study is the pitch speed and the bat speed. We hope to determine which is more important in making the ball further.

Research Most websites I looked at said it does matter about the speed of the pitch. A YouTube video I found said that bats peed and angle of bat mattered more though. Then I came to figure out that it is all things pitching speed, bat speed, and the angle of the bat. I found my answer that pitching speed does play a role in how far you can hit the ball.

Variables  Independent variable: Pitching speed and bat speed. Pitching speeds will be set at 20, 40, 60, and 80 mph. The bat will be swung at slow, medium, and fast speeds for each of the pitching speeds.  Dependent variable: How far you hit the ball/operational definition- how far the ball travels after you hit it in meters  Constant variables: Bat, pitching machine, field, L- Screen, helmet, and batting gloves  Control group: 60 mph I chose this because an average 13 year old pitcher can throw 60 mph.

Hypothesis If the speed on the pitching machine is set at 80 mph then it will affect how far you can hit the ball?

Materials  L-Screen  Batting Helmet  Pitching Machine  Batting Gloves  Bat  Measuring Tape  3 people to feed baseballs into the pitching machine

Procedure  Make Diagram of Field to Collect Results-  Setting up the baseball field  Pitch ball at 20, 40, 60 and 80 miles per hour  Measure distances  Record results on diagram  Make Chart of results -

1.  Photo 1 shows me getting ready to hit the ball  Photo 2 shows me hitting a 60 mph ball 2.  Photo 3 shows me following through on a 60 mph ball 3. Photos

Data/Observations Analysis  The speed of the pitch has a role on the distance that the ball travels. However, as this data shows, bat speed plays an even bigger role. If pitch speed was the only determining factor, you would be able to hit a homerun with a bunt. Average Distance (in feet) Pitch Speed

Conclusion To summarize the project, pitching speed did affect the distance of the ball, but bat speed had a bigger impact on the distance the ball traveled. At any pitching speed the faster you swung the bat, the further the ball traveled. Next time you go to a baseball game you will know the science behind a Home Run!

Possible Experimental Errors Possible experimental errors could be: 1. That the accuracy of the pitching machine was not consistent. 2.It was also where I hit the ball on the barrel or the handle. 3.The other experimental error was that the measure of the bat speed it was to hard to measure my bat speed.

Applications and Recommendations I would make sure that you can make the pitching machine pitch consistently. I would make sure you can get a radar gun to measure your bat speed. I would also do everything possible to hit the ball on the barrel.

Works Cited  Robson, Tom. "The Hitting Edge." Google Books. Web. 11 May  "Science of Baseball: The Scientific Slugger | Exploratorium." Exploratorium: the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception. Web. 11 May  "Speed Of A Batted Baseball | LIVESTRONG.COM." LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools. Web. 11 May  Web. 11 May