Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello everyone, my name is Annie, and I have some questions for "the science of spin: a baseball pendulum". I hope someone can actually answer these for me:
1. What are the dimensions of the grid that we were supposed to make out of cardboard?
2. Do we hang the pendulum on something or hold it with our hand?

Thanks, and I really hope that someone out there in the world can answer these.
Again, thanks and have a great day!

From,
Annie

Hi Annie,

For the dimensions of the board, I think that you have some freedom in choosing the dimensions as you see fit. If you are not introducing a lot of motion of the ball along one direction, you can use a smaller board (maybe a few feet by few feet). However, if you want to measure larger distances because you will be releasing the ball at a greater distance from the starting point, I would use an even larger board (maybe 4 feet by 4 feet).

To get more accurate measurements, I would definitely try to tie the string to a fixed object; you will get more consistent results this way. A garage would be a perfect place to try out this experiment since you can fix the string to a beam or fixture on the ceiling.

I hope this helps with your project. Also, this is the life sciences forum, so if you have further detailed questions about any physical sciences projects, be sure to check out their forum.

Best,
PharmaMan