Newton's laws in athletics By: Maddie Stablein
Newton's First Law: Law of inertia
Newton's first law states that "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force"(PhysicsClassroom).
In sports:
Before the lifter lifts the weight it is at rest. When the lifter lifts it, it is then in motion. It was acted upon by an unbalanced force in order to be moved from rest to motion.
As a soccer player lines up for a free quick the ball is at rest. As soon as the player makes contact with the ball it begins its motion. The soccer player serves as the unbalanced force which moved the ball from rest to motion.
When a cyclist is riding at a constant motion he is moving. But then when he comes to a road block or has a reason to stop her must change his force and brake. He is then at rest.
Newton's Second Law: Law of acceleration
Newton's second law states that "The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object"(PhysicsClassroom).
In sports:
A pitcher has to put in a certain amount of force to get the ball from the mound to the catchers glove in a quick and efficient manner.
A javelin thrower must put force into the throw to get the javelin to sail through the air as far as he can get it to go.
A runner must push over the ground each step with as much force as possible in order to get as far as he can as fast as he can.
Newton's third law: law of reaction
Newton's third law states that "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction"(PhysicsClassroom).
In sports:
When a softball is traveling towards a hitter and gets hit by the bat it changes direction and goes the opposite way as the original way it was moving.
As the birdie travels over the net and is returned by the opponents, its direction is changed.
When a volleyball crosses over the net and starts to move down towards the girl a player can change the direction and hit it upwards.
Works Cited
Henderson, Tom. "Newton's Laws." The Physics Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.