pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 I am an 8th grade student who is interested in performing an experiment involving golf balls. My experiment would involve testing different kinds of balls to see which one goes the furthest. Keeping in mind that this is supposed to be a scientific experiment, I don't know how to hit the ball consistintly. The only thing that I could thing of was a swinging pendilum, put I wasn't sure if it would work. If you have any input at all, it would be very helpfull! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolecularMan14 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Ok, first of all, hey. Second of all- you would have to have a control to where each ball would get hit with exactly the same amount of force (or at least enough to where the judges wont notice ) If one type of ball is hit with more force, then your whole experiment is skewed. Therefore, you would have to control the rate at which the pendulum moves, thereby controlling how much force is transferred into the ball. (make a robot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPL.Luke Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 easy way set up an electric motor that rotates at a set speed hook up a mallot to that. rotate it so that the hammer is always perfectly vertical to the ground (use a quick square) then turn the motor on the hammer will always hit the ball at the same velocity. for this you can find you answer mathmatically and impress the teacher by then demonstrating that you got it right. by knowing the velocity at which the hammer strikes the hammer and what the mass of the hammer it you should be able to find out the momemtum with which it strikes the ball. using this you can know how much momemtum the ball will depart with. then divide the momentum by 2*the mass of the ball. this will give you the velocity of the ball and then by seeing how far it goes you can find the decceleration due to friction. Major prop points from the teacher for finding the friction you could accelerate the ball by means of a ramp as it will be accelerated by gravity at a constant speed or an easier experiment would be to verify newton's theory of gravity and do a ball and ramp test. Then learn all of the math and impress the teacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 ACtually it may be worthy to find a formula regarding mass and distance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 http://www.howstuffworks.com/question37.htm is quite good about the design of golf balls and how they work... although for an experiment such as this to be fair would be very hard... mainly due to the propulsion being too big a variable. personally i would try doing a different experiment if you can... also to accurately measure the distances covered by the ball you would need a very fast camera which could see exactly where the ball first lands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 markings inthe ground can usually denote where a ball has landed, sepecially if the ground is soft, or even better do it on a beach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 If you think that this experiment is too hard. than do you have any other suggestions? I seem to be having trouble thinking of things to do. The idea about using the electrical motor might work. but it would be really hard. Any other ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blike Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 If this is for a junior highschool project, a pendulum would probably suffice. You'd have to make sure you raise the pendulum to the same height every time, and you'd also have to make sure the ball is placed in the exact same spot every time. There are other variables, but for a junior high project that would probably be fine. Sounds like a good experiment. Do you have a hypothesis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyebeh Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 use a ramp and measure the acceleration of gravity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 a plain and simple "Drop test" from a specific height, that will give each ball a KNOWN energy input. then it`s just simply a case of measuring the bounce back ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5614 Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 If you think that this experiment is too hard. than do you have any other suggestions? I seem to be having trouble thinking of things to do. The idea about using the electrical motor might work. but it would be really hard. Any other ideas? well probaly i will... but you say 8th grade, pressumably that makes you around 12-15years old. what is the experiment for? what kinda things are your friends doing? what are the guidelines? what are you meant to be finding out? basically, what were you told to do by your teacher? i assume that this is physics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 To answer your questions. It is for a competetion called Pennsylvania Junior Acedemy of Science. There aren't any really specific guildlines. As for the hypothesis. I want to know what brand of golf ball goes the furthest. Such as Titelist, Nike, and other balls. For each company I would do some research and find out which ball they claim to be the best distance ball. And then test them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 Does any one have any ideas? About anything that I can do for PJAS or about the golf ball experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fitzgerald Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 fitzgerald says go to a golf course club house and ask to use the automatic golf ball hitter and load it with all kinds of balls. somebody must have a auto-hitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 prove a formula such as KE=1/2MV^2 etc.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fitzgerald Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 fitzgerald asks how to post my article on quantum matrix reality for review and comment? anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 go onto Quantum mechanics and put a thread there, either give a link or put it in quotes (if its small) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fitzgerald Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 molecule! thanks a newcomer has a bad time with all that "different stuff". Fitz molecule! what is a thread? FAQ says to post an article on home page and click on articles -------but where is "article button"? I can not find same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 how do I give a link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 lol im ed84c not molecule. to give a link simpley copy and paste it from the address bar. It will appear as a hyperlink when it is posted. A thread is like this, one post followed by others. TO make one in the top left hand corner (after going on forums, and quantum mechanics) click create new thread. THen type in a title and a question etc. By the way would it be rude to ask how old you 2 are, and do you know each other? <you see helping new memebers out, mabye i should be made a mod.... > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 I'm 14, I've never met fitzgerald. I agree you would make a great moderator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed84c Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 thankyou , tell it yto yt o r sayo tho (yes or dave or blike or jakiri or bloodhound) theybve got quite alot , novody to represet a younger generatio n tho. Sorry im going off topi c a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfrimmdog Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 Does anyone know how, or out of what, I should create this robotic swinging pendelum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayonara Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 thankyou , tell it yto yt o r sayo tho (yes or dave or blike or jakiri or bloodhound) theybve got quite alot , novody to represet a younger generatio n tho. Sorry im going off topi c a bit. No, really. Please do not tell any of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now