The Effect Of Temperature On Football
I am choosing to study how the PSI (pounds per square inch) of a football is affected by the temperature. I chose to study this because I like football and I always pondered this question. I believe that this is a worthwhile question to study because these studies can help improve the game as the weather gets colder.
As air cools, it expands, so when a football gets colder, the air inside it expands. This expansion causes the air pressure to decrease. The air pressure decreases because the molecules move less. The molecules move less because the air is cold. So as the weather cools down, the ball will be lighter and softer. In fact, for every 12.2°C (10°F) drop, the PSI decreases by .23 kg (.5 lbs.). This experiment has been done by Lily Johnson.
She found that at 81°F, the PSI was 12.5. At 0°F, the PSI was 9. Sports Science also did an experiment on this and got similar results. I have read many football websites about this topic as well as a study done by four Boston area scientists.
The materials that I will be using include: a new, unused football, a refrigerator/freezer, an air pump, and a PSI meter. My procedure goes as follows; I will get a football and inflate it to 13.5 PSI and record data. Then, I will place the football in the refrigerator at 0°C (32°F) for one hour and record data. Next, I will place the football in the freezer at -17.78°C (0°F) for one hour and record data. Lastly, I will clean up all materials. I will need to use a line chart to show PSI to temperature.
If the temperature is decreasing, then the PSI will also decrease because the air molecules will be less active. I believe that this is true because as the temperature decreases, the air expands, causing the air molecules to move less. Because the molecules are less active, the pressure decreases.
As air cools, it expands, so when a football gets colder, the air inside it expands. This expansion causes the air pressure to decrease. The air pressure decreases because the molecules move less. The molecules move less because the air is cold. So as the weather cools down, the ball will be lighter and softer. In fact, for every 12.2°C (10°F) drop, the PSI decreases by .23 kg (.5 lbs.). This experiment has been done by Lily Johnson.
She found that at 81°F, the PSI was 12.5. At 0°F, the PSI was 9. Sports Science also did an experiment on this and got similar results. I have read many football websites about this topic as well as a study done by four Boston area scientists.
The materials that I will be using include: a new, unused football, a refrigerator/freezer, an air pump, and a PSI meter. My procedure goes as follows; I will get a football and inflate it to 13.5 PSI and record data. Then, I will place the football in the refrigerator at 0°C (32°F) for one hour and record data. Next, I will place the football in the freezer at -17.78°C (0°F) for one hour and record data. Lastly, I will clean up all materials. I will need to use a line chart to show PSI to temperature.
If the temperature is decreasing, then the PSI will also decrease because the air molecules will be less active. I believe that this is true because as the temperature decreases, the air expands, causing the air molecules to move less. Because the molecules are less active, the pressure decreases.