3rd - 5th Session 6: "Graduation" Day! Designing Experiments

For the past 5 sessions our scientists have been studying and investigating how science plays a key role in sports.  Well, for our last session the challenge was to pick one of the sports we did an investigation on and come up with a testable question for which they would design and conduct their own experiments.  The pictures below tell how they went about doing so.

The first step: Working in groups, students discussed and shared ideas about what would they be testing about the sport chosen.  Once they decided on what they would be testing they had to come up with a testable question and design the experiment: What would be measured?  How would it be measured? What materials would be used?  What would the procedures/steps of the experiment be?  How would they record the data?   It was important to get all this down on paper before heading outside to test.

Next step:  Once all the details were discussed and decisions were made about how they would go about in their investigation it was time to do a final check to make sure all pieces were ready to go.

Next step: With all their materials and experiment design on hand, the scientists headed outside to do their investigations.

Next step: It was very important observations and data were collected so that analysis and conclusions could be done.

Next Steps: Once all data was collected and all trials were conducted, the scientists headed back inside to look through their observations and data.  Analysis of these pieces was conducted and conclusions were made.  Had the experiment answered the testable question?  Was the prediction/hypothesis correct?  What could have improved the experiment and if the experiment could be done again, what would we do differently and why?

Final step: We discussed how sharing findings/results is a vital component of a scientific community.  It is only when discoveries from experiments are shared that more is learned about what we study!  So each group shared their findings about the investigation they had conducted and what they had learned from it.

This group tested if the size of the ball mattered in terms of speed when batting.  They shared how they started by kicking the ball (combining sports), conclusions were that yes, size matters and how the ball is thrown will affect its speed.  They also shared that perhaps they have discovered a new sport!  A combination between soccer and baseball?  Maybe that is what kickball is all about?  Keep it up ladies, you never know!

This group wanted to know if the the way one stands/uses legs makes a difference in making a basket in the sport of basketball.  Their findings showed that yes it does!  Without jumping there is less energy and force that go into the ball.  Way to go girls!

This group wanted to know how a goalie can improve his/her skill at stopping the ball from scoring by studying how the opponent kicks the ball at the goal.  Does angle matter?  Does speed matter?  The answers to both are a big YES!  According to the data, it is vital that goalies study their opponents best kickers, it may save the game!  Well done young men!

This group wanted to know why the baseball that is used for a baseball game is that specific size (density, mass, circumference, etc.).  Does this matter when trying to score runs?  They also added the human component to their investigation: How much does cooperation between athletes plays a role when trying to score a run?  Findings showed that both of these factors matter!  However, an interesting observation is that according to their data, it was the trial using a plush ball which weighs less than a baseball that helped the winning team score runs. In terms of cooperation, it turns out that it does matter greatly but that perhaps more needs to be studied in this area because ability on how to play the sport may also be a huge factor.

All in all, each group of scientists did a great job!  They proved that science plays a very important role in sports and had fun in the process!  Well done young scientists!

K - 2nd Session 6: Gases!

For our last session, our young chemists focused their attention on gases.  We discussed the properties of gases and how they compare to liquids and solids: they are like liquids as they can also take the shape of the container they are in but ONLY if they are contained with a lid or top of some sort.  They don't really behave solids, although on a very humid day deep in the rainforest it may "feel" like there is a "wall" of humidity!

After discussing gases we went on to make our own gas!  For this experiment we actually used test tubes, the young chemists were oriented on how to hold the test tube as well as other lab safety pieces.  As a precaution everyone wore goggles, in case something exploded!  When everybody was ready we gave the experiment a go with a big thumbs up!

We used baking soda and vinegar to create the gas.  To contain the gases we used small test tubes and covered them up with balloons.  Chemists were asked how would we be able to "see" the gas?  What was inside the balloon?  Just as a precaution, the chemists did not handle the liquid or solid directly, but they did hold on to the test tube while the reaction took place.

Some observations made while the experiment occurred were: 

- the smells the chemicals gave off when mixed, 

- sometimes the amounts of the chemicals to be mixed did not work out well, hence a balloon would POP off!  Too much gas!

-test tubes look like they can hold "alot" of stuff, but they don't really, tricky!

-if you do get the right combination of chemicals to react then the balloons stay on AND do get filled with the gas made!

I am very proud of each of these young chemists!  They know how to handle chemicals, lab equipment, more about the three states of matter AND had lots of fun in the process!  

3rd - 5th Grade Session 5: The Biomechanics of Pitching in Baseball

In this week's session the scientists conducted an experiment that analyzed the biomechanics involved during pitching in baseball.

We began by learning what the word 'biomechanics' actually means - the study of the body in motion and the engineering involved in how the body moves through the motion (forces involved etc.).  In particular we looked at the body in motion in baseball by learning and understanding the 6 different phases that are involved during pitching.

For this experiment we focused on the second phase - Stride, which is when the pitcher moves the front foot toward home plate as the two arms swing down and apart from each other.  The stride phase ends when the front foot touches the mound. For our particular purposes we said that stride would end when the front foot touched the ground again.

We wanted to know if using stride makes a difference in the pitch accuracy.  This idea was tested by using a sheet, marked with an X in the middle placed about 40 feet away from the pitcher.  The pitcher then was to conduct 3 trials using stride and 3 more trials not using stride.  The accuracy of the pitch was recorded by observing on whether the pitcher was able to 'hit' the X on the sheet during the trials.  The data on how long it took the baseball to hit the sheet once it left the pitcher's hand was also recorded.  For safety purposes all those helping hold up the sheet and in the surrounding area wore goggles.

So what did our data show?  It showed that indeed using stride increases the acceleration of the baseball because more force is used using the body to propel the ball forward.   We also learned that real life pitchers REALLY need to study their biomechanics and become very comfortable understanding how their bodies move so that they do not get injured!