Sports Science Projects: The Physics of Balls in Motion

Filled with exciting and amazing experiments, an illuminating guide reveals how sports can be scientific by examining baseballs, golf balls, footballs, ping-pong balls, and more.

Grade 6-10-This well-organized, clearly written series title will get readers thinking about why a baseball has stitches, why a tennis ball has fuzz, and how a Ping-Pong ball will change if its center is filled. Exciting experiments demonstrate the differences among the types of balls used in sports and the relationship between design and performance. Many of the experiments are followed by excellent ideas for science-fair projects. Black-and-white diagrams and drawings illustrate the concepts discussed. This valuable, practical resource encourages exploration and experimentation.
Paul Bielich, Northwestern High School, Detroit, MI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Goodstein provides nearly 40 projects involving sports balls that demonstrate the principles of physics. She describes the composition of each ball (baseball, basketball, football, golf, rubber, and tennis), its rebound rating, the effects of temperature on its bounce, and several other properties. She also explains the Magnus effect and the Bernoulli principle. Most experiments are easy to perform and use readily available equipment. Appropriate cautions are noted when demonstrations require drilling, sawing, or fire. The most appealing parts of the book are the explanations of how physical principles affect sporting techniques--for example, the reason for the dimples on a golf ball. This book in the Science Fair Success series should find an audience among sports enthusiasts and reluctant science fair participants. A bibliography and a list of Web sites are appended. Kay Weisman