GIZMOS GOLF RANGE. STUDENT EXPLORATION

Q&A




Name: Date:


Student Exploration: Golf Range
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary​:​ acceleration, air resistance, gravity, hang time, launch angle, projectile motion, trajectory, vector,
velocity

Prior Knowledge Questions ​(Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. You are in a contest with your friends to see who can drive a golf ball the farthest. Should you hit a “line
drive” (low to the ground) or a shot with a very high angle? Explain.


A shot with a very high angle because it will travel far due to the parabolic shape it will create
and fall down once the gravity has fully taken the ball down with it.


2. Golf drives travel much farther than Major League home runs. Why might this be?


This might be because a golf ball is completely still before it’s even hit and a baseball would
be spinning through the ball before it was even hit, creating opposite forces.


Gizmo Warm-up
Have you ever hit a hole-in-one? You will have a chance to do that in the
Golf Range​ Gizmo, where you will see how a variety of factors affect the
path of a golf ball. The movement of objects such as a ball through space
is called ​projectile motion​.

1. Press ​Play​ ( ).
​ Did the ball go too far, the right distance,
or not far enough?

Not far enough.


2. Click ​Reset​ ( ). Move the ​v​initial​ and ​θ s​ liders​ to adjust the ​velocity​ and ​launch angle​ until you get a
hole-in-one. (With the Gizmo sound on ( ) you will hear “Hole in one!”)


What were the velocity and launch angle values? 64 m/s and 45 degrees.


3. Can you get holes-in-one using other combinations of ​v​initial​ and ​θ?
​ If so, give an example.

Yes, 70 m/s and 27 degrees.

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, Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready​:

Maximum ● Click ​Reset ​and check that ​Atmosphere: Air​ is selected.
distance ● ​
Set ​vinitial​ ​to 75 m/s and ​θ​ to 45.0 degrees.



Question: What launch angle will produce the longest drive?

1. Form hypothesis​:
What launch angle do you think will yield the longest drive? 45 degrees


2. Experiment​: Turn on the ​Show grid​ checkbox. With the velocity set to 75 m/s, experiment with a variety of
launch angles until you find the one that yields the longest driving distance.


A. What launch angle produced the longest drive? 43 degrees

B. How far did the ball travel? 375 meters


3. Observe​: Click ​Reset​ and turn on ​Show paths​. Click ​Clear paths​. Take a swing with the optimum launch
angle. The curved path the ball takes through the air is its ​trajectory​.


Look closely at the trajectory. Does it appear symmetrical? No


The curve is slightly steeper on the right than on the left as a result of ​air resistance​.


4. Experiment​: Click ​Reset​,​ ​then select​ Atmosphere: None​.​ ​As before, use trial and error until you find the
launch angle that produces the longest drive.


A. What launch angle produced the longest drive? 41 degrees

B. How far did the ball travel? 570 meters

C. Why do you think the ball traveled farther in this There is no air resistance that limits the
situation? range of the ball.


5. Extend your thinking​: The Moon has much less gravity than Earth and has an extremely thin atmosphere.
How would these factors affect the trajectory of a golf ball on the Moon?


The trajectory would not be very far because the ball would halt in the middle of space and
float due to the extremely thin atmosphere.




Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved