Physical Science Activity
How Fast Can You Pitch?
- Imagine yourself pitching a tennis ball to a partner a distance
of
about
12 meters at a speed so that your partner can catch the ball which you
throw to him/her. Predict how fast you throw the ball (use
meter/sec
or m/s for the speed units).
- Do it!
- Obtain the following items:
- ruler (meter stick)
- tennis ball
- digital stop watch
- Go outside and measure the suggested distance.
With
at
least 3 people to a group, measure the speed that each person can
comfortably
throw the ball such that the 2nd person can catch it. The third
person
in the group works the timer. Record at least 3 trials for each
person
and record the results in your notebook similar to the table
below:
Note: record only the throws which are caught by the catcher in the
group! The cells are blocked out so you will get into the habit
of recording data in your own notes.
| Person (thrower) |
Time (trial 1) |
Time (trial 2) |
Time (trial 3) |
Average |
| |
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- Decide how to calculate the average speed for each thrower.
Hint:
use the units of speed (meter/sec) to decide how to calculate the
speed.
Do it!
- Compare your average speed with your prediction.
- Calculate your speed in miles/hour. See your text and the
instructor.
- After you calculate the speeds for your data, enter everyone’s
data
from
the whole class in a spreadsheet and make the calculations in the
spreadsheet.
It will help if you place a data table on a marker board in the
classroom.
Hard Throw! Now comes the fun part! Instead of
having
someone catch your tossed ball, you get to throw it as hard as you can
(don’t throw your arm out!) outdoors against the brick wall.
- Predict your hard throwing speed.
- Measure your throwing speed using the same techniques as
above.
You
should use 6 meters as your distance.
- Enter everyone’s data in another spreadsheet and make the
calculations
from m/s into mi/hr.