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Cole Tarango

Mrs. Stevens

Physical Science

12 December 2018

Which Sports Ball Can You Throw the Farthest out of a Baseball, a Football, or a Lacrosse Ball?

Although football is one of the most popular sports in America, there are more schools

that offer baseball as a sport that can be played. Football, baseballs and lacrosse are all sports

played on a field, yet each requires its own skill. I wanted to know which one required the most

skill and therefore was the most difficult to throw. Each sports ball has a different way to throw

it, that could also decide if it is hard to throw or not. I thought that ​if people throw a baseball,

football, and a lacrosse ball, then the baseball will go the farthest.

What Causes Some People to Throw Farther Than Others?

There are many factors for people have the ability to throw farther than others. Some

factors that cause people to throw farther than other are velocity and throwing mechanics. You

need to be able throw fast (velocity) because if you do not throw very fast, you will not be able

to throw very far. If you do not have very good throwing mechanics, you will not throw far

because then that means you could be stepping to the side, or you could even be throwing

underhand, you need good mechanics to throw far. One person can have better throwing

mechanics by practicing whenever you get a chance to, that alone will improve your velocity.

You will most likely throw farther if you don’t weigh as much because sometimes people who

weigh more, or if people weigh a little on the heavier side, don’t have as strong of muscles as the

people who are fit. You have to have the strength and technique to throw far, because if you are
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not strong and you don’t have good technique, that automatically means you won’t throw far.

Mobility is a key factor to being able to throw far, this is because you need to be flexible, or you

need to be able to move your arm in a certain way. The last factor that I will list is stamina, you

need to have stamina because then if you are tired physically, or mentally quickly, sometimes it

means that you need to build up stamina, you can’t be tired and throw far (​Boggs)​.

How Does the Weight Affect the Distance a Projectile Will Travel?

The weight does in fact affect how a projectile will travel. When people throw different

sports balls, usually the heavier ball goes the farthest because there is more force being released

from the bigger ball. Also, the bigger ball has more energy before leaving the person’s hand.

Gravity pulls the ball down to earth after it is released from the person’s hand. It takes more

effort to slow down the bigger ball because the bigger ball has a lot of force going into it. Once

the bigger ball hits the ground, it will begin the slow down quickly because of how heavy it is

(​Johnson).

Which Muscles are Used When Throwing an Object?

When throwing a ball, your body uses a number of different muscles, such as your

triceps, your latissimus dorsi, and your core muscles. Your tricep adds power for when you let go

of the ball. Your latissimus dorsi is located on one side of your back. The latissimus dorsi helps

you stay balanced when you are in your throwing motion, but it also provides power when you

throw the ball. Some muscles that are in the core that help you throw objects are your abs, glutes,

lower back, and hips. Your core helps you remain stable during throwing motion. Your core

helps you transfer weight from one leg to another, allowing you to stay balanced (​Rifkin).

Does the Shape of an Object Affect How Far You Throw It?
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The shape of an object will affect how far it is thrown. The air drives the object and

therefore it causes the ball to slow down. It is like when you are riding a bike and then you feel

the pushing on your face and it is almost like the wind it going to push you over. When you

throw a football, you have to throw a spiral because then if you don’t, it will not go very far due

to shape of the football. Another example is how car engineers are trying to make cars more

aerodynamic and fuel efficient. Also if you don’t throw the football correctly, not only wil itl not

go very far, it will not be thrown in a straight line (​UCSB)​.

How Do You Accurately Measure the Distance a Projectile Travels?

To accurately measure the distance a projectile travels, you need to calculate how high

the projectile is thrown into the air. Then you also need to find out how fast the projectile is

traveling. You also need to fast the projectile is traveling. It also be helpful if you notice where

the ball lands. When the ball is thrown, notice when it is at the peak of the arch that it is thrown.

Notice the path that the projectile took after it is released from the person’s hand (​Projectile)​.

What Factor Does Grip Play in the Distance Someone Will be Able to Throw an Object?

There are many factors that grip play in being able to throw far. Grip is important

because it works the antagonist muscles. There are many way to develop grip strength. One

possible way to develop grip strength is to do hand grippers. Another way is to fingertip planks.

The last way that I will talk about is to do fingertip arm shuffles. You can choose to do these

exercises either at a gym, or even at your own house (​Blewett).

I thought that ​if people throw a baseball, football, and a lacrosse ball, then the baseball

​ he baseball is a bit
will go the farthest, and I found out that the baseball went the farthest. T
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lighter than the lacrosse and football, but the baseball has a lot of grip on it. The weight of the

lacrosse ball is a little too heavy to be thrown, plus, the lacrosse ball doesn’t have much grip at

all. The football can be gripped as well as the baseball can, but the way the football shaped gives

it the disadvantage. The average amount of meters the baseball went was 60.9 meters, the

average meters for the football was 26.3 meters, and the average meters the lacrosse was thrown

was 55.4 meters.

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Works Cited

Boggs, Josh. “Home.” Pitch Mechanics 101, Themeinwp, 26 June 2016,

pitchmechanics101.com/the-9-factors-that-strongly-influence-pitching-velocity/.

Blewett, Dan. “Throwing Requires Hand Strength Pt. 1.” DANBLEWETT.COM, 27 May 2009,

www.danblewett.com/throwing-requires-hand-strength-pt-1/.

Johnson, Lee. “Science Project: The Effect of Mass on the Distance a Ball Travels.”

Sciencing.com, Sciencing, 28 Apr. 2018,

sciencing.com/science-project-effect-mass-distance-ball-travels-2550.html.

“Projectile Motion.” Santa Ana Unified School District , Santa Ana Unified School District ,

www.sausd.us/cms/lib5/ca01000471/centricity/moduleinstance/8024/physics_ii.pdf.

Rifkin, Beth. “What Muscles Are Used in Throwing a Baseball?” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf

Group, 11 Sept. 2017,

www.livestrong.com/article/405958-what-muscles-are-used-in-throwing-a-baseball/​.

“UCSB Science Line.” UCSB Science Line, scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3435.