Science Fair Project Using Bowling Balls

A science fair project using bowling balls is a common occurence in elementary and middle school science classes. There are a lot of great sports science fair experiments that you can conduct using bowling balls. Regarless if you are interested in force experiments or surface tension experiments, get ready to have a ball.

The first science fair project using bowling balls is the floating bowling ball experiment. In this experiment you are going to experiment with bowling balls of different weights to see if they will float in a bathtub or large container of water or if they will sink. You are going to be surprised at the results of this experiment.

The second science fair project using bowling balls is the traditional bowling ball drop experiment. In these physics science fair projects you are going to drop a bowling ball and a baseball at the same time to see which one will hit the ground first. The purpose of this experiment is to explain the properties of acceleration and gravity. An variation on this experiment is to use a feather and a bowling ball. This experiment adds a new variable to the formula, resistance.

Another sports science fair experiment that you can complete using a bowling ball is a mass displacement experiment. To start with you will predict how much water a bowling ball will displace when submerged into a pail of water. After you make your predictions place a bowling ball in the water and measure how much water is forced out of the pail. Did this amount match your prediction? Why or why not?

The fourth science experiment that you can complete using a bowling ball deals with force. Try to predict how much force it is going to take to roll a bowling ball up an incline with an angle of 15 degrees, 30 degrees and 45 degrees. Now experiment to see how much force is actually required to roll a bowling ball up an incline with these inclination angles. How can you apply the data you collected be applied to a road construction project?

The final science experiments that you can try are going to try and etermine how much effort is required to bowl. Design your experiment around people of different ages, sizes and athletic ability. Chart their heart rate, physical signs of exertion like sweating and breathing hard and how many times they can throw their ball down the alley before needing to take a break. All of these observations will help you understand how the body reacts to physical exertion even during simply games like bowling.