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Science of Golf: dimples

By Judy Elgin Jensen

Posted on 2014-07-01

Think of it as a linear particle accelerator, but instead of atoms, golf balls are propelled at speeds up to 200 miles per hour through a corridor that is 70 feet long and banked with infrared sensors. That’s the tool the United States Golf Association (USGA) Research and Test Center uses to test golf balls. The USGA regulates the diameter and weight of a golf ball, and places standards on speed, distance, and aerodynamics.
Find out more about the sport of golf and those uniquely dimpled balls with the video springboard Science of Golf: Why Golf Balls Have Dimples, produced by NBC Learn and the USGA. Lesson plans focused on engineering processes developed by NSTA help you take the videos into your classroom, exposing your students to not only another sport, but to the science and engineering behind it.
To find out more about what engineers and others do in “real life,” visit the USGA Research and Test Center. It might be a career path for some of your students.
In the meantime, grab your favorite beverage and give the videos, available cost-free on www.NBCLearn.com, a quick overview. While Martin Kaymer dominated the U.S. Open and Michelle Wie made a clutch birdie to secure a win in the Women’s, there’s more excitement still to come this summer at the U.S. Senior Open, played July 10-13, played in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Find out for yourself what the game—and the science—is all about.
Exotic image of a pink golf ball courtesy of Aftab Uzzaman.
P.S. And although color is not addressed in the video, know that pink balls undergo the same rigorous testing, as do the yellow, blue, green, and fluorescents. As long as it has dimples—it’s fair game!
Video
SOG: Why Golf Balls Have Dimples is about how small depressions on the surface of a golf ball make it unique and especially suited for the game.
STEM Lesson Plan—Adaptable for Grades 7–12
SOG: Why Golf Balls Have Dimples guides students in designing and testing a dimpled golf ball according to criteria and constraints established by the class. It also provides ideas for STEM exploration plus strategies to support students in their own quest for answers.
You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans: [contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

Think of it as a linear particle accelerator, but instead of atoms, golf balls are propelled at speeds up to 200 miles per hour through a corridor that is 70 feet long and banked with infrared sensors. That’s the tool the United States Golf Association (USGA) Research and Test Center uses to test golf balls. The USGA regulates the diameter and weight of a golf ball, and places standards on speed, distance, and aerodynamics.

Children's Choices Winner, Children's Book Council and International Literacy Association!
Children's Choices Winner, Children's Book Council and International Literacy Association!
Celebrate imagination! This NSTA Kids book has been selected for the Children’s Book Council #ImaginationCelebration Showcase! Full book list: Imagination Celebration Showcase
Celebrate imagination! This NSTA Kids book has been selected for the Children’s Book Council #ImaginationCelebration Showcase! Full book list: Imagination Celebration Showcase

Dark as a Shadow: I Wonder Why

Time for shadow play! After reading about how light and objects interact to create shadows, young children won’t be able to resist twisting, wiggling, bending, and shaking to see the phenomenon for themselves. To add to the enjoyment, Dark as a Shadow is written in lively rhymes, making it even more fun to learn the science behind why shadows change length through the day and disappear in the dark.
Time for shadow play! After reading about how light and objects interact to create shadows, young children won’t be able to resist twisting, wiggling, bending, and shaking to see the phenomenon for themselves. To add to the enjoyment, Dark as a Shadow is written in lively rhymes, making it even more fun to learn the science behind why shadows change length through the day and disappear in the dark.

Light and Color: I Wonder Why

This book unfolds as a series of observations about light, including where it comes from, how it bounces off of people and objects, and what we mean when we say the colors of a rainbow are the colors in light. Throughout the text, informal experiments prompt young scientists to learn by doing, and impressionistic drawings bring the mysteries of light and color to life. By the book’s end, students will have a useful foundation for middle school and beyond, when they’ll learn about energy, wavelengths, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
This book unfolds as a series of observations about light, including where it comes from, how it bounces off of people and objects, and what we mean when we say the colors of a rainbow are the colors in light. Throughout the text, informal experiments prompt young scientists to learn by doing, and impressionistic drawings bring the mysteries of light and color to life. By the book’s end, students will have a useful foundation for middle school and beyond, when they’ll learn about energy, wavelengths, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

Children's Choices Winner, Children's Book Council and International Literacy Association!
REVERE Award Finalist, PreK-12 Learning Group, Association of American Publishers!

Children's Choices Winner, Children's Book Council and International Literacy Association!
REVERE Award Finalist, PreK-12 Learning Group, Association of American Publishers!

Time for shadow play! After reading about how light and objects interact to create shadows, young children won’t be able to resist twisting, wiggling, bending, and shaking to see the phenomenon for themselves. To add to the enjoyment, Dark as a Shadow is written in lively rhymes, making it even more fun to learn the science behind why shadows change length through the day and disappear in the dark.
Time for shadow play! After reading about how light and objects interact to create shadows, young children won’t be able to resist twisting, wiggling, bending, and shaking to see the phenomenon for themselves. To add to the enjoyment, Dark as a Shadow is written in lively rhymes, making it even more fun to learn the science behind why shadows change length through the day and disappear in the dark.
Here’s humorous proof of just how fun it is to observe with your ears. A whimsical introduction to pitch and volume, this book practically begs young scientists to read it aloud. And why not? It’s the best way to compare the differences among a telephone’s high ring, a cow’s low moo, a fire truck’s loud clang, and a flying string band’s plinkety plink plunk. Sounds Are High, Sounds Are Low is ideal for beginning readers and hilarious practice for future sound effects pros.
Here’s humorous proof of just how fun it is to observe with your ears. A whimsical introduction to pitch and volume, this book practically begs young scientists to read it aloud. And why not? It’s the best way to compare the differences among a telephone’s high ring, a cow’s low moo, a fire truck’s loud clang, and a flying string band’s plinkety plink plunk. Sounds Are High, Sounds Are Low is ideal for beginning readers and hilarious practice for future sound effects pros.
A friendly debate leads twins Bill and Mary to compare rubber balls, rafts, and gloves with glass marbles, greenhouses, and jars, objects that at first seem very different. A field trip teaches them that both rubber and glass can bend, bounce, stretch, and even melt. This lively story introduces the concept of properties. As scientists know, properties are characteristics that help us understand the traits of substances all around us if—like Bill and Mary—we observe closely.
A friendly debate leads twins Bill and Mary to compare rubber balls, rafts, and gloves with glass marbles, greenhouses, and jars, objects that at first seem very different. A field trip teaches them that both rubber and glass can bend, bounce, stretch, and even melt. This lively story introduces the concept of properties. As scientists know, properties are characteristics that help us understand the traits of substances all around us if—like Bill and Mary—we observe closely.
While building a soapbox racing car, a pair of friends provide an easy-to-understand lesson in how simple machines are all around us, making our work more efficient. Michael and Luci show readers that a broom is a lever, nails are wedges, and a screwdriver is both a lever and a wheel and axle. The two also prove that curious children can be just like scientists, making observations and using how and what questions to explore physical science principles they encounter all the time.
While building a soapbox racing car, a pair of friends provide an easy-to-understand lesson in how simple machines are all around us, making our work more efficient. Michael and Luci show readers that a broom is a lever, nails are wedges, and a screwdriver is both a lever and a wheel and axle. The two also prove that curious children can be just like scientists, making observations and using how and what questions to explore physical science principles they encounter all the time.
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