Experiment: This project requires 15 baseballs; all of them need to be the same brand. Keep five at room temperature, put five in the freezer, and put five in the microwave for a few minutes. One at a time, hold the balls one meter above a wooden table and drop it. Record how high it bounces. Keep track of the measurements for all 15 balls and then average the numbers for the five at each temperature. Finally, compare the measurements between the heated, room temperature, and frozen balls.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the measurements? Did temperature affect the height of the bounce? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of thermodynamics? How does this project apply to baseball players?

Experiment: Choose three different experimental outfits. One should be very bulky (for example, sweater or sweatshirt, corduroys or sweatpants, boots, hat, gloves, scarf, etc.), one should be moderately bulky (jeans, long sleeved t-shirt, light sweater, sneakers, hat, etc.) and one should be light and form fitting (spandex leggings, bathing suit, bathing cap, lightweight shoes, etc.). Next, try running, swimming, and/or biking in each outfit. Go the same distance each time and have someone record your speed. Finally, compare your speeds in each outfit.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the different times? Did the clothing have an effect on your speed? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of air and water resistance? How does this project apply to swimmers, runners, cyclists, speed skaters, and skiers?

Experiment: Take a properly inflated basketball (one that dribbles easily on a basketball court) and try bouncing it off of different surfaces. Try a basketball court, carpet, grass, concrete, foam, a mattress, ice, and anything else you can think of. On each surface, hold the ball as high as you can and drop it, do not throw it down. Then, record how high it bounces. Try several bounces on each surface and take an average of the height. Compare the average bounce height on each surface, which are higher, which are lower?

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the bounce heights? Did the surfaces have an effect? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of collision and elastic energy? How does this project apply to basketball players and to those who design basketball courts?

Experiment: Try balancing on a bicycle when it is standing still. How long can you stay up before it tips over? Record your time. Next, being to pedal very slowly (one rotation every 30 seconds). Now, how long can you stay up before it tips over? Record your time. Next, speed up your pedaling (one rotation every 10 seconds, one rotation every 5 seconds, one rotation per second, two rotations per second, etc.). For each speed, record how long you can stay up before tipping over. Compare the length of time you can stay upright at each speed.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the length of time before tipping over at each speed? Did the pedaling speed affect the balance? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of gyroscopic precession and balance? How does this project apply to cyclists?

Experiment: For this experiment you need a ping-pong ball and a hairdryer. Turn the hairdryer on and point it upward. Then, drop the ping-pong ball into the stream of air. What happens? Move the ball with your hand slightly to the right of the hairdryer. What happens? Next, move it to the left. What happens? Record your findings.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the behavior of the ping-pong ball? Did the air affect its position? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate Bernoulli's Principle? How does this project apply to ping-pong players, tennis players, baseball players, and golfers?

Experiment: Sit on a chair that spins around. Start the chair spinning and keep your arms out to the side. How many times can you go around before stopping? Now, start the chair spinning at the same rate but keep your arms in tight against your chest. How many times do you go around this time? Repeat this experiment several times and then compare the average number of rotations for both positions.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the number of rotations? Did your body position have an effect on your rotational speed? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of conservation of angular momentum? How does this project apply to figure skaters, gymnasts, and divers?

Experiment: This project will simulate what happens when a cyclist rides right behind another cyclist. You will need a cookie sheet, 2 household candles, and a cardboard toilet paper roll. Glue the two candles onto the cookie sheet, about 6 inches apart. Tape the toilet paper roll to the cookie sheet, about one inch in front of one of the candles. Place the tray at one end of a table and with your parent's help, light the candles. Pull the cookie sheet across the table, keeping your eyes on the flames. Are they moving in different ways? How does the toilet paper roll affect the behavior of the flame behind it?

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the flames? Did the fact that one was blocked while the other wasn't affect their movement? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of drafting? How does this project apply to cyclists, cross country skiers, and speed skaters?

Experiment: This experiment can be done on a playground slide or on a snowy hill. Go to the top of the hill or the slide and go down, sitting straight up, with your arms straight up over your head. Time how long it takes you to reach the bottom. Record your time. Next, go down again; still sitting straight up but this time keep your arms in your lap. Record your time. Next, go down but lie down flat. Record your time. Repeat going down in each position several times and then compare the averages.

Conclusion: What can you conclude about the affect that your body position had on your speed downhill? Did the position affect the speed? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of air resistance? How does this project apply to bobsledders and lugers?

Experiment: Build a ramp by propping one end of a board up on a pile of books and letting the other rest on the floor. Next, take three smooth round objects of different sizes. One should be large (for example a large roll of duct tape or a bowling ball), one should be medium sized (for example a hockey puck or a baseball), and one should be small (for example a marble or a super ball). Place all three objects at the top of the ramp and release them at the same time. Which one got to the bottom first? Repeat with other objects and record the results. Which object wins the race?

Conclusion: What can you conclude about the speed of a spinning object based on which one won the races? Did the size of the object affect its speed? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the importance of the distribution of weight around an object's center of gravity? How does this project apply to figure skaters, gymnasts, and divers?

Experiment: Hold a baseball bat in one hand and with the other hand, bounce a baseball up and down the length of it. How does the bat react? Keep track of how it feels in your hand when you bounce the ball at the tip of the bat, at the base, and in the middle. Which one feels the best? Next, bounce the ball up and down the length of the bat and measure how high it goes at each point. Is there a relationship between which spot felt the best in your hand and which one produced the highest bounce?

Conclusion: What can you conclude about the affect that the location of the ball on the bat has on the height of its bounce and on your hand? Did it make a difference? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of center of percussion? Is there another word for this term? How does this project apply to baseball players, tennis players, and golfers?

Experiment: Get in a swimming pool all by yourself and swim four laps. Record your time. Then, have one person get in the pool with you and splash around while you swim the same four laps. Record your time. Keep adding splashing people to the pool until it is practically full. The other people shouldn't get in your way but they can stand and splash right next to where you are swimming. Keep track of your time as each person is added and then compare them.

Conclusion: What can you conclude about the affect that the splashing people had on your speed? Did they make a difference? How? Can you think of explanations for your findings? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of turbulence and water resistance? How does this project apply to swimmers?

Experiment: This experiment will take place over the course of five weeks. During each week you will pick one night to sleep a certain number of hours and then the next day you will run one mile. The first night, make sure to get eight full hours of sleep.
The next afternoon, run the one mile and record your time. The next week, get
seven hours of sleep and then time yourself running one mile the next afternoon. The next week get six hours of sleep and then time yourself running one mile the next afternoon. The next week get five hours of sleep and then time yourself running one mile the next afternoon. The next week get four hours of sleep and then time yourself running one mile the next afternoon. Make sure to keep everything else (diet, other activities, etc.) constant each week so the only variable is the amount of sleep. Compare your times for each day.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the chart of your running times? Did the amount of sleep you got the night before have an effect? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts used in biology and physiology? How does this project apply to all athletes?

Experiment: Get five of the same matchbox cars so they are all the same design and weight. Next, build a wide, five lane ramp by taking a large piece of wood, propping one end on a stack of books and resting the other end on a smooth floor. Paint stripes down the ramp so you have five racing lanes. Place different materials on the ground, at the bottom of each lane. Use things such as aluminum foil, carpet, newspaper, cardboard, foam, wax paper, denim, plastic wrap, a towel, and anything else you can think of. Start all of the cars at the top of the ramp, let them go, and race them down. Record how far each car went before stopping. Repeat this experiment with different materials and compare your results.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the chart of which cars went the farthest? Did the different materials at the bottom of the ramp have an effect? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of friction? How does this project apply to racecar drivers, cyclists, and inline skaters?

Experiment: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees. Have a friend throw a beach ball to you. How many times can you catch the ball, without moving your feet, before you start to tip over? Try it again with straight legs. Try it again holding your feet together. Try it with one foot in the air. Try it with your feet together, up on your toes. Try it up on your toes, with one foot in the air. Record how many catches you can make before tipping in each position. Are some positions more stable than others?

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of how many catches you can make before tipping over? Did the different body positions have an effect? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts of balance and center of gravity? How does this project apply to all athletes?

Experiment: Cut several squares of tin foil into six inch by six inch squares. Put 20 pennies into one of the squares and fold the tin foil into a ball around them. Put another 20 pennies into another square but leave it flat (just fold up the edges so the pennies won't slide off). It is important to make sure that both are the same weight. Place both items in a bucket of water and record what happens. Do they behave the same way? Repeat this experiment with other objects in the foil to see if the same thing happens. You can use paperclips, jacks, nails, washers, or anything else you can think of.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of what happens to the different shaped objects? Did the different shapes have an effect? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept of buoyancy? How does this project apply to sailors and surfers?

Experiment: Stand in one spot and jump up as high as you can without bending your legs at all. Have a friend measure how high you went. Next, bend your knees slightly and jump. Next, bend down as far as you can and jump. Next, take a running start and then jump off of one leg. Next, take a running start and jump off of two legs. Choose the jump that was the highest and see if you can do anything while you are in the air to make you fly even higher. Try flapping your arms, moving your legs, moving your body, or whatever else you can think of. For each try, record your height.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the jump heights? Did the way you started or your movements in the air have an effect? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts of horizontal and vertical momentum? How does this project apply to vaulters?

Experiment: Take a new pair of rubber soled sneakers and walk around in them on a wood floor. Do they provide traction? Do you slip around or can you walk without slipping? Is it easy to walk or do your feet stick to the ground? Record your findings. Next, put your sneakers in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for 24 hours. Then, walk around again and ask yourself the same questions. Record your findings. Finally, leave your sneakers in a very warm, sunny place or on top of a radiator for 24 hours. Walk around again and ask yourself the same questions. Record your findings. Compare the results for each temperature.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of how the different temperature sneakers felt? Did the temperature have an effect on their traction? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concept friction? How does this project apply to basketball players, tennis players, and runners?

Experiment: Set up an archery target or dartboard in a safe area. Take 20 arrows or darts and remove the feathers on the end of half of them. With parental supervision, shoot the arrows or darts toward the target one at a time. First use all of the ones with the feathers and then use the ones without. For each attempt, record how close it came to the bulls-eye and how stable it was in flight (for example, did it go straight to the target or did it wobble in the air?). Compare the results for the ones without the feathers and the ones with the feathers.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of how the darts or arrows without the feathers flew to the ones with the feathers? Did the feathers have an effect on how they behaved in the air and how close they came to the target? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts of airflow and aerodynamics? How does this project apply to archers and dart players?

Experiment: Take an inflated beach ball and put five marks on the side facing you. One mark should be right in the middle, one halfway between the middle and the right side, one halfway between the middle and the left side, one halfway between the middle and the top, and one halfway between the middle and the bottom. Hold the marked beach ball in one hand, with the marks facing you, and toss it straight up in the air. With the other hand, hit the ball on the center mark. Record its flight pattern (for example, did it go straight or did it curve to one side, how far did it travel). Repeat by hitting all of the marks and record your results. Repeat this experiment with soccer balls, baseballs, tennis balls, and anything else you can think of. Compare the flights when the balls are struck at the five different points.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the flight paths? Did the location of the strike on the ball have an effect on how they behaved in the air? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts of spin and air pressure? How does this project apply to baseball players and tennis players?

Experiment: In a wide open space, throw a Frisbee five times. The first time, throw it at an extreme upward angle (aim toward the sky), the second time throw it at a moderate upward angle (aim between the horizon and the sky), the third time throw it straight ahead (aim toward the horizon), the fourth time throw it at a moderate downward angle (aim between the horizon and the ground) and the fifth time throw it at an extreme downward angle (aim toward the ground). You can also add other angles if you want. For each attempt, record how far the Frisbee flew. Compare the length of flight for the different angles.

Conclusion: What can you conclude from the comparison of the lengths of flight? Did the angle at which your threw the Frisbee have an effect on how far it went? How? Can you think of an explanation for this result? How does this experiment demonstrate the concepts of lift and gravity? How does this project apply to ultimate Frisbee players, hang gliders, and airplane pilots?