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Physics in Sports

Entries in this blog

The physics of hitting a golf ball

A popular sport in the world is golf especially now that the masters are on television. This is the start of a very exciting time for many people to be watching such a long storied sport. The physics in golf are plentiful. There are many kinetic equations that are involved in hitting a golf ball. There is not an initial velocity on the ball but when you swing and hit it there is a ton of displacement and a large final velocity. This is also something that deals with friction when the ball hits t

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

The Physics of a spitting out sunflower seeds

As I'm sure many of you know eating sunflower seeds is a very popular task and one that is full of physics. Such as when you are biting down on the seed to crack it you are putting a force down onto the seed that is needed to crack but did you know that the seed is putting a force onto you. Indeed the seed is putting a force onto you called the normal force. This helps allow you split the shell. Now when you spit out the sunflower seed you are doing a kinetic equation that will affect the distan

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

The physics of doing the wave

As you know the stadium wave that is more commonly know as "the wave" is one that is transversal. This is because as the wave transfers through the medium which happens to be fans at an athletic event. Since the wave requires people to stand up from their seats and raise their hands quickly the wave's period is measured in a certain way. The way the period is measured is as the time it takes for one complete oscillation which would be a complete wave around the stadium. The frequency is the amou

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

The Physics of dunking on my brother

Although the hoop may only be 9.5 feet I still find the experience of dunking and hanging on the rim in his face one that is full of excitement and physics. The physics that take place is one that involves kinetics and waves. The kinetics that are involved use gravity, height, velocity and displacement to show how my little brother could get posterized. As I take off for my jump I have to get some speed so that I can jump about a foot or 2 in the air so that I can get the ball over the rim. Then

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

The physics of standing absolutely still

I'm sure that a majority of you guys reading these blogs know how physics works but I'm not sure that a great amount of you guys knew that physics never stops. Even if you stand exactly still there is still plenty of physics taking place all around you that effects you. Such as there is still the force of friction that helps you stand up. The force of friction from the tread of your shoes, socks, feet helps add a layer of resistance to the ground allowing you to remain standing upright and still

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of Badminton

In the Olympic sport of badminton there is physics present in every move that takes place on the court. Some of the physics that takes place on the court is kinematic equations as well as momentum and impulse. Starting off with the kinematic equations there is an initial velocity and final velocity as well as the ability to travel a certain distance and have an acceleration if there is a spike. There is also momentum and impulse in the the shuttle (Birdie) hitting the racket sending an impulse t

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of the NBA dunk contest

In the NBA dunk contest there is physics present in every high flying jump and every attempt at a show stopping dunk. When the contestant starts their attempt at a dunk they are getting ready to defy physics. They must go against gravity every time they attempt a rim shaking dunk. The players are very strong and they use their momentum from a running start and use impulse to push off the ground with a great deal of force to accomplish the high jumps they need. These players have vertical jumps

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of Bass Fishing

In the sport of bass fishing there is a lot of physics that are taking place. First of all when you even start your expedition to catch a fish you must cast your rod. This is a small kinematics problem because you have to make your hook travel a distance that you have already pre-decided. This is a kinematics problem because not only is your hook traveling a vertical distance but a horizontal distance. While trying to travel the vertical distance you must go against the force of gravity. Then on

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of doing the Super Pipe in the X games

As you may know the winter X games are currently taking place. The event is taking place in Aspen, Colorado and there is physics present in every event that takes place. Such as the Super pipe which combines flips and grabs with heights of up to 15 feet. There is physics in figuring out how many flips a rider can get in before they have to land their snowboard again. Many of the riders are able to get a 1080 which is the equivalent of 3 spins in the air. Some of the riders can even get 2 to 3 fl

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of backing the Car out

Seeing as how I had been driving today I had been playing with physics a lot today. As you know when you are driving you generally have to deal with backing out a car on a reasonable amount of time. So when I was getting ready to help my father move cars earlier I had unintentionally used Physics. I had been doing a small kinematic equation problem without even knowing it. So this is how I used physics earlier today. II had been doing a kinematic equation using horizontal kinematics. I knew

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of backing the Car out

Seeing as how I had been driving today I had been playing with physics a lot today. As you know when you are driving you generally have to deal with backing out a car on a reasonable amount of time. So when I was getting ready to help my father move cars earlier I had unintentionally used Physics. I had been doing a small kinematic equation problem without even knowing it. So this is how I used physics earlier today. II had been doing a kinematic equation using horizontal kinematics. I knew

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of curling

The winter olympics sport of curling is one of immense proprtions relating to physics. As the stone is lightly rolled across the ice it is facing many forces. The force of gravity is pushing down as it makes it's way down the ice. There is the normal force on the stone making it stay on the ice at the same height. There is also the force of the stone being sent down the ice. There is also friction coming from the stone as it meets the ice causing it to slow down and land in the bulls eye. This i

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics in Cricket

In the sport of cricket there are many uses of Physics present in the motions necessary to compete in the game. In cricket you have a person that is the pitcher and a batter who hits a little ball and tries to touch as many of the posts as possible before the defense knocks the piece of wood off the post. When you are playing cricket there are many uses of physics like when you are pitching you are using kinematic motion to make the ball move very fast. As well as you are using horizontal and v

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of a 3 pointer

When it comes to a basketball player shooting a 3 pointer this is all about physics. When the ball leaves the hand of the shooter the shooter has to decide whether they should use more power from their legs or if they should use more of their arms when they release. As well as when they shoot the ball it is almost as if they have done a small horizontal, vertical equation in their head. As they judge the arc needed for the ball to reach the rim. You also need to know the distance you are shootin

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of a 3 pointer

When it comes to a basketball player shooting a 3 pointer this is all about physics. When the ball leaves the hand of the shooter the shooter has to decide whether they should use more power from their legs or if they should use more of their arms when they release. As well as when they shoot the ball it is almost as if they have done a small horizontal, vertical equation in their head. As they judge the arc needed for the ball to reach the rim. You also need to know the distance you are shootin

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

Physics of Basketball

Hi! I am a junior at Irondequoit High School and I am taking Physics this year because I didn't want to take an ap science. I play 3 sports for the high school soccer, basketball and lacrosse. I enjoy all of those sports alot but basketball is my favorite sport to play. I hope to learn alot about physics this year so I can apply it to real life. this will help my knowledge grow and understanding grow of why and how things work. There are physics everywhere in the wide world of sports. One of

RileyMcGwin

RileyMcGwin

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