The Book of Wildly Spectacular Sports Science: 54 All-Star Experiments

In the fourth title in the series that began with The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science, Connolly gets at the science behind sports with 54 experiments designed to provide answers to questions like “What Makes a Frisbee Fly?” while introducing such concepts as lift, drag, propulsion, friction, kinetic energy, and mass. The experiments are a mix of physically active (using a playground seesaw to explore the torque involved in a snowboarder’s flip) and rainy day friendly (a pen, putty, and DVD help demonstrate the angular momentum of a football spiral pass). The chatty tone, clear scientific explanations, and broad range of athletics discussed mean there’s something here for just about every kind of sports fan. Ages 9–up. (Nov.)