The game of baseball provides an interesting laboratory for experimenting with mechanical phenomena (there are many good examples in The Physics Teacher, available on Professor Alan Nathan’s website, and discussed in Physics of Baseball & Softball). We have developed a lab, for an introductory-level physics course, that investigates many of these phenomena. The lab uses inexpensive, readily available equipment such as wooden baseball bats, baseballs, and actual Major League Baseball data. By the end of the lab, students have revisited many concepts they learned earlier in the semester and come away with an understanding of how to put seemingly disparate ideas together to analyze a fun sport.
References
1.
D.
Russell
, “Swing weights of baseball and softball bats
,” Phys. Teach.
48
, 471
(Oct.
2010
).2.
D.
Kagan
and A.
Nathan
, “Statcast and the Baseball Trajectory Calculator
,” Phys. Teach.
55
, 134
(March
2017
).3.
D.
Kagan
, “The anatomy of a pitch: Doing physics with PITCHf/x data
,” Phys. Teach.
47
, 412
(Oct.
2009
).5.
6.
K.
Wagoner
, K. M.
Hynes
, and D.
Flanagan
, “Interesting guided-inquiry labs for large-enrollment, active-learning physics II course
,” Phys. Teach.
56
, 244
(April
2018
).7.
ESPN’s Home Run Tracker
, http://www.espn.com/mlb/homeruns.© 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2018
American Association of Physics Teachers
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