Proficiency 1

Problem: What effect does the mass of the ball have on the distance it can push a roll of tape?
Hypothesis: I believe that the larger the mass of the ball, the more force it will have, and the farther the tape will move, because Newton's Second Law of motion shows that force is equal to the acceleration times the mass of an object, so I believe the baseball will make the tape roll the farthest.
Experiment:

Variables -
IV- mass of the ball
CV- same slope, same friction, location of tape
DV- distance
Control- tennis ball

Materials -
Roll of duct tape
Tennis Ball
Regulation Baseball
12" Inclined Plane
Ruler

Procedure-
1. Gather all materials
2. Construct the inclined plane so that the back end is 5 inches off of the ground
3. Place the roll of duct tape onm its side three centimeters away from where the inclined plane meets the floor
4. Place the ruler next to the block with the centimeter side facing the tape
5. Align the ruler to 0 at the back edge of the tape
6. Roll the tennis ball down the inclined plane
7. Wait for the tennis ball to hit the tape
8. Wait for the tape to stop moving
9. Measure how far the tape has moved
10. Record the data
11. Repeat steps 2-10 four more times with the tennis ball
12. Repeat steps 2-10 five times, replacing the tennis ball with the baseball

I eliminated external variables in many ways, to try to increase the scientific accuracy of the experiment. In order to keep the ball rolling in a straight path, I built edges into the inclined plane that allowed the ball to only roll straight. Because of the shifting that may have occured, I reset the experiment after each trial. Finally, I did the experiment in a coontrolled environment to try and combat the ever changing environment. All in all, I think I did a pretty good job in making my test more scientific.

Observations:
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average
Tennis Ball 54 71 74 67 68 66.8

Baseball 100 129 109 157 121 123.2

***all numbers are represented in mm***

Conclusion:

When wondering if a ball with a higher mass would push a roll of tape farther than a ball with a lower mass, I believed that it would because of what is stated in Newton's second law of motion. After experimenting with this, I found that my hypothesis was supported by the data. On average the baseball hit the tape 123.2 mm, while the tennis ball only hit it 66.8 mm. This is because of the varying masses of the two similairily shaped and sized balls. The inside of a baseball is more densely packed than that of a tennis ball, but the volume of both types of balls is equal, if not slightly different. Using the formula: mass = density x volume, we can show that the baseball has a higher mass than the tennis ball. In turn, we can use another formula: force = mass x acceleration, to show why the baseball moved the tape farther than the tennis ball. Because it has a higher mass, and when rolling down the same slope, the baseball would have generated more force, which it applied to the tape and moved it. That's the reason you bowl with a bowling ball instead of a marble, because the bowling ball has more mass and in turn generates more force to apply to hitting the pins down.

Inside of a tennis ball

Inside of a baseball

Newton's First Law can be demonstrated in many ways, but for this explanation I will use a soccer ball being kicked. At first, when it lays at rest, it will continue to stay that way until it is acted upon by the unblanced force of the kick. When it is kicked, the ball begins to roll, gaining speed and acceleration. eventually, depending upon the force of the kick, the friction of the grass causes the ball to decellerate and eventually stop because of the unbalanced force. So, an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Newton's Second Law described in Conclusion

Newton's Third Law can be described using a Newton's Cradle. When you take one ball back and release it, it hits the remaining four balls. Energy is then transfered throught the balls to the final ball, which moves away from the rest of them. The first ball moves in and the last ball moves out. An equal and opposite reaction.