Experiment 2

Overall Driving Question: What is the most efficient pass?

Experimental Question: Between a ground pass and a ping, which one has a higher average of resistive forces acting upon it?

Experiment Details:
First, I set up a target 30 meters away from where I am passing. Next, I will be doing three trials of a ground pass and ping and calculating for my desired values, in this case, frictional force and drag. In my last experiment, I concluded that the ping was not as effective within 20 meters so I adjusted the distance of this experiment to 30 meters in order to get a more accurate result for the ping without skewing the ground pass' result. By finding and comparing the resistive forces acting upon each pass, I will be able to determine which pass has less external forces acting on it. Additionally, apparent weight of the ball is the weight of the ball when it is on the ground (412g). On the other hand, when the ball is in the air, the apparent weight is 0. Lastly, I will be using the X-velocity in my experiment for my ping because it is more accurate and is easier to measure rather than the Y-velocity. 

Ground Pass Free Body     Ping Free Body

Click link to see my motion graphs

Derivation/Equations I used:

Data Interpretation:

Conclusion/Results: 

The frictional force of the soccer ball rolling was .323 N

The average force of drag acting upon the ball was .9778N

These results make sense because when a ground pass is performed, the main interaction is between the ground and the ball, reducing the amount of extraneous variables acting upon it. On the other hand, a ping has many other variables acting upon it during its path which can include wind and spin. To conclude, if a player is looking for a pass to a teammate without interruption from external sources such as wind or spin, the ground pass is ideal choice as it is the most accurate, proven with Experiment 1, and has less resistive forces acting upon it in comparison to the ping.

Extraneous Variables:

• Weather (windy vs. not windy)

• The velocity of the ball (because drag depends on velocity)

• The ball used

• The effort used

• The uneven grass terrain

• My brother

Loom Video: