Bicycle Science Fair Projects by Robert Gardner

Author:Robert Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Enslow Publishing, LLC

Experiment 13

MEASURING YOUR BICYCLE’S SPEED WITH WATER BALLOONS

Materials

*chalk or white flour

*level walk, path, or sidewalk

*water

*balloons

*bicycle (speedometer optional)

*bicycle helmet

*meterstick, yardstick, or tape measure

*a friend

*stopwatch

You can also measure your speed on a bicycle in a less direct but more interesting way. Use chalk or a little white flour to make a target near one side of a level walk, path, or sidewalk. Next, fill some balloons with water. Seal them by tying off the necks.

Be sure that no one is walking along the path or sidewalk. When the path is clear and while wearing your bicycle helmet, hold the balloon against one handlebar of your bike as you ride by the target (see Figure 14). Plan your approach so that the balloon will be directly over the bull’s-eye as you ride over the target. Release the balloon at the moment it is directly above the target.

Return to the scene of your experiment. Did the water balloon land on the target? If not, where did it strike the ground? Can you explain why it landed where it did and not on the target?

Try the experiment several times at different speeds. Each time, release the water-filled balloon when it is directly over the target. How does your bike’s speed affect the horizontal distance the balloon travels before it hits the ground?

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