1 ST INNING: I am the official mascot of the Oakland A s and I also like to consider myself a baseball scientist! Science is all around us. Not only is it fun to learn, but knowing the science of baseball can also help you become a better athlete. Help me complete these activities, and learn some tips and tricks to become the best player you can be! Team: Oakland A s A s Player: All of them! Vehicle: The Smiling Chevron Car Colors: Green & Gold Food: Peanuts Hangout: Stomper Fun Zone
2 ND INNING: WOW! Baseball players are so FAST! I love to watch #4, my good friend COCO CRISP speed around the bases. Have you ever wondered how fast they are running? Speed is a factor of distance and time. Here is how we calculate it. COCO s up to bat! He hits the ball and runs to 1 st base (90 ft) in 4 seconds. Let s calculate his speed. 90 ft 4 sec 22.5 ft/sec This means he is running 22.5 feet every second! What would COCO s speed be if he hits a double, running to 2 nd base in 7 seconds? Coco can almost run as fast as the ball! I wonder what is inside of a baseball.
3 RD INNING: One of the most important pieces of equipment in baseball is the BALL! Without it, the players wouldn t have anything to throw, catch or bat! Can you fill in the different parts of the baseball using the picture below? COTTON Every baseball has exactly108 stitches. The cork center is commonly known as the Pill. The most balls used in a MLB game is 78. If you unwound all the yarn, it would go around the bases 2.7 times.
4 TH INNING: When you are able to hit the ball just right, it means the ball hit the sweet spot on your bat. So, what makes the sweet spot so sweet? It all comes down to the transfer of energy through vibrations. When an object is struck, it creates a vibration. In our case, the ball causes the vibrations to travel up and down the length of the bat and into your hands. This causes a sting... OUCH! This pain is lost energy; energy that could have been transferred to the ball. Hitting the sweet spot allows the least amount of energy loss through the bat and the most amount of energy transferred to the ball. This results in a farther, less painful hit! Let s test your knowledge on the sweet spot by answering True or False The sweet spot results in the vibration waves cancelling each other out. The more sting you feel in your hands, the farther the ball will go. Hitting the sweet spot results in the optimal transfer of energy from the bat to the ball. I m learning so much! Baseball is so scientific, what s next?
5 TH INNING: I love watching our home games at the O.co Coliseum. One of the first things I always notice is the grass on the field. So, how does that grass stay so green? Besides our fantastic grounds crew, there are a few different factors that contribute to its growth. Plants, like us, need to eat to survive. Because plants can t move around, they must create their own food. This process is called photosynthesis. The process involves four different factors. Let s learn what they are. Using the descriptions provided, label the above diagram. Absorbed through tiny cells on the leaves called chloroplasts. Inhaled just as humans breathe in oxygen. Sucked out of the earth through the roots like a straw. Released from the plant as the final result of the process.
6 TH INNING: Do you ever think those towering home runs could make it to the moon before they drop? No matter how hard the ball is hit, gravity will always bring it back down to Earth. Gravitational pull keeps any mass from drifting off into space. It pulls us to the ground when we jump, and those baseballs back down to the field. An important thing to remember is mass is different than weight. Mass will remain the same no matter the gravitational pull, while weight is the result of gravity pulling on the mass. This means that your weight actually changes from planet to planet! The following chart is the gravitational pull of each of the planets compared to Earth. Multiplying this number by the weight on Earth will tell you the weight of the object on the different planet. Let s see the different weights of a standard 5 oz. baseball. PLANET GRAVITATIONAL PULL MERCURY 0.37 VENUS 0.88 EARTH 1.0 MARS 0.38 JUPITER 2.64 SATURN 1.15 URANUS 0.93 NEPTUNE 1.22 PLUTO 0.06 Weight of Baseball 5 oz. Back down to Earth! Can you SENSE what s coming next?
7 TH INNING: Baseball is a game of senses. Our 5 senses allow us to protect ourselves and enjoy the world around us. Let s learn what they are. Sight: Everything we see with our eyes. Smell: Scents we smell with our nose. Touch: Anything we feel with our body. Hearing: Listening for noises with our ears. Taste: What we taste with our tongue. Between the players on the field, and the fans in the stands, we use all 5 senses. Fill in the main sense being used for each of the examples below. A baseman, tagging the batter at 1 st. An outfielder, WATCHing the ball drop. A pitcher, LISTENing for the call. An A s fan, eating a hotdog in the stands.
8 TH INNING: Being a skilled hitter like JOSH DONALDSON is always a good start, but different climates can affect your baseball skills, too. The weather is an important variable in baseball, and could help or hinder your home runs! wind For every 1 mph increase in wind blowing toward the outfield, the ball will travel 3 feet farther. HEAT For every 10 degree increase in temperature, the ball will travel 4 feet farther. Josh hits a ball 390 feet on an 70 degree day, with no wind. What are the results of this same hit in these different conditions? The temperature is 90 degrees There is a 4 mph wind towards centerfield. 80 degrees with a 2 mph wind feet feet feet A home run in the O.CO Coliseum is 400+ feet. Circle the hits that made it out of the park!
9 TH INNING: That was fun! We sure learned a lot about the Science of the Game. Use the clues to solve the puzzle below. DOWN 2. Sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. 3. Common name for the cork center of the ball. 4. The ideal spot on the bat to hit the ball. ACROSS 1. Sucked out of the earth during photosynthesis. 4. of the Game! 5. The Oakland A s Mascot. 6. Oakland. 7. When the batted ball goes high but not too far. 8. The factor of distance and time traveled. 9. The force that brings the ball back down. GO A s! Hope to see you soon!
ANSWER KEY 1 ST INNING: IStomper s Favorites 6 TH INNING: It s out of this WORLD! 2 ND INNING: The NEED for SPEED! 180 ft 7 sec 25.7 ft/sec 3 RD INNING: Having a BALL COVER STITCHING COTTON PLANET GRAVITATIONAL PULL MERCURY 0.37 VENUS 0.88 EARTH 1.0 MARS 0.38 JUPITER 2.64 SATURN 1.15 URANUS 0.93 NEPTUNE 1.22 PLUTO 0.06 1.85 oz. 4.4 oz. 5 oz. 1.9 oz. 13.2 oz. 5.75 oz. 4.65 oz. 6.1 oz. 0.3 oz. WOOL RED RUBBER BLACK RUBBER CORK CENTER 7 TH INNING: Making SENSE of it all! TOUCH SIGHT 4 TH INNING: BATTER UP! 5 TH INNING: Where the GREEN GRASS GROWS HEARING TASTE 8 TH INNING: KNOCK ONE out of the park 9 TH INNING: HOMESTRETCH The temperature is 90 degrees There is a 4 mph wind towards centerfield. 80 degrees with a 2 mph wind T F T The sweet spot results in the vibration waves cancelling each other out. The more sting you feel in your hands, the farther the ball will go. Hitting the sweet spot results in the optimal transfer of energy from the bat to the ball. 398 feet 402 feet 400 feet This workbook was developed by Think Creative Media Inc.. 261 King St. E., Unit 203, Toronto, ON, M5A4T9. For inquiries, contact info@thinkcreativemedia.com or call 647-300-4093. Printed in Canada. 2014. All rights reserved. Think Creative Media Inc. retains ownership of all original content. This book cannot be reproduced or printed unless express release is given in writing. www.thinkcreativemedia.com.
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