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Corked Bats and Hitting Distance

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Corked Bats and Hitting Distance | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Corked bats are banned in professional baseball -- but do they actually send the ball farther? This project measures the difference. Ten batters each hit a pitched ball with a corked bat and a standard wooden bat. You record the farthest hit from each batter with each bat. The results show whether the corked bat gives a real distance advantage or just a slight edge.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that a baseball will travel further when hit with a corked baseball bat, rather than a standard wooden bat.

Method & Materials

You will assign 10 baseball batters a number between 1 and 10, have them warm up, and then have them hit the ball 3 times with a corked bat and 3 times with a wooden bat. The assistant will measure the distance traveled by the ball with a measuring tape.
You will need 10 baseball batters, 1 baseball pitcher, 1 wooden baseball bat, 1 corked baseball bat, 2 dozen baseball balls, a measuring tape, and 1 assistant.

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Results

The results showed that the ball traveled slightly further after being hit with the corked bat, compared to the distance produced with the wooden bat. This proves that our hypothesis was correct.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it explores the differences between two types of bats and how they affect the distance a baseball travels.

Also Consider

To improve the reliability and accuracy of our results, a larger sample of participating baseballers should be used. This science project may also be repeated, this time, comparing a lighter wooden bat with a corked bat.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

Related videos

These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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