Physics of Sports Video

Evidence of Work

Our Task:

For this project, Dylan Davis, Nick Carlomagno, and I were told to pick a sport or movement, explain the physics behind it, and teach others how to do it in a video. We first had to pick a movement or sport. After a long discussion, we decided on flipping a pancake because we thought it would be accessible to everyone, fun, and we could do it during class time. Then we researched information about it and looked at videos on how to do it. We made pancakes during most classes and practiced our form and tried it a few different ways. We figured out that butter worked better than cooking spray, thick batter worked better than thin, and that the heat could not be too high, or else the outside would burn and the middle would be raw. Next, wrote a script and a storyboard and assigned everyone lines. We split up most of the work to optimize everyone's best skills. For example, Nick wrote most of the script and storyboard because he's the most creative, Dylan edited all of the videos together, and I filmed parts of the video and flipped most of the pancakes. Although we worked separately on some things, that did not stop us from collaborating and having a great time.

Our Final Product:

Overall, I think our final product is pretty good. In the video, we included introductions, a ton of pancake-flipping videos, directions on how to flip a pancake (including the stance and arm motions), velocities and forces needed to flip a pancake, and tips on how to get better. Also, the video is a little over 2 minutes which was a good time for us to explain everything that needed to be explained, yet not too long that it got boring. Personally, I don't think our video is boring and I think we made it as fun as it could be. Below I have attached our final video, storyboard, and script.

Pancake Flipping Video Script:

D: My name is Dylan.

L: My name is Lindsey.

N: My name is Nick.

L: And we are the pancake flipping masters. Pancake flipping is a turning point in the preparation of a meal that can either make breakfast or break it. If you flip too early, you have created a mess, and if you're too late you have a charred excuse for a pancake. A pancake flip is a perfect way to show off your superior moves to onlookers. When the pancake exits the pan, it should have a vertical velocity of 4m/s. The bigger the velocity, the higher the pancake will go. It should have a horizontal velocity of 0.04 m/s. This velocity is so low because we want the pancake to go up, and come straight back down, so it won’t be moving very much horizontally. You will need a force of 2.3N or about ½ of a pound to lift the pancake off the pan.

N: To flip the perfect pancake, you will need a pan, a burner, butter, 200 pounds of muscle and masculinity, and pancake batter. To perform a pancake flip, you must first, examine the edge of the pancake and look for bubbles forming on the edge and center. The batter should be firm on the sides, not sloshy. Once the conditions are perfect, firmly grip the handle of the pan with both hands. Or only one hand if you’re a cool cat, and brace for the flip. Then, push the pan out and up and back, creating a circular motion. If you exert enough force under the pan, the pancake should lift off the pan and do a 180° flip in the air, and land back on the uncooked side. When you are lifting the pancake up into the air, be sure to get the force from your legs. Once you are ready to catch it, cradle the pancake back into the pan to make a smooth catch.

D: The most dangerous moment only takes a split second. To do it right, do not flip the pancake too high or the pancake will flip too many times. It should be lower than 15 centimeters from the pan. Do not flip the pancake to low or the pancake will not have time to fully rotate. It should be higher than 5 centimeters from the pan. force the half-cooked pancake toward the pan while simultaneously turning it 180 degrees. If you followed all the steps correctly, you should have yourself the perfectly flipped pancake.

IMG_3746.mov

Physics of Flipping a Pancake Storyboard:

Introduce everyone, give an overview of the video and what we will be showing
Give some background information about pancake flipping
Show some clips of different pancake flips
Overview of the technique
Focus on the stance
Work on the arm motion
Go deeper into the pancake rotation
Put all the steps together
Tips on how to make yourself better
Work on arm motion
Show a few other shots, zooming in on different angles
Explain how we found the vertical velocity
Explain the force we needed to flip it

Content

Force of Impact (Fi) :

the force that occurs when two objects collide
measured in Newtons (N)
Fi = m(change in velocity)=Ft force of impact = mass(change in velocity) = force(time)
solving to find the force of impact when the pancake lands on the pan : 0.085 kg(3.9m/s)=F(1/7s) -> Fi = 2.3 N

Horizontal Velocity (Vh) :

average speed on a flat surface with no outside forces
measured in meters per second (m/s)
Vh = dh/t horizontal velocity = horizontal distance / time
solving to find the velocity of the pancake moving horizontally : 0.03m / 0.8s -> Vh = 0.0375 m/s

Vertical Velocity (Vv) :

velocity of a falling object going up or down
measured in meters per second (m/s)
Vv = ag(tfall) vertical velocity = (acceleration due to gravity)(time of fall)
solving to find the velocity of the pancake rising and falling : 9.8m/s(0.4s) -> Vv = 3.92 m/s

Total Velocity (Vt) :

horizontal and vertical velocity combined
measured in meters per second (m/s)
Pythagorean theorem : a^2 + b^2 = c^2 where... a = Vv b = Vh c = Vt
solving to find the total velocity of the pancake in the air : 3.92 ^2 + 0.0375^2 = c^2 -> Vt = 3.93 m/s

Calculations :

To the left are my full calculations for finding the concepts above. They show needs and givens, the correct equations, and how I solved each of them.

Reflection

Overall, I think I did well throughout this project and our group did well as a whole. My group all went to middle school together, yet we never really interacted with each other there, so it was fun to get to know them better. I've enjoyed making these special bonds with people who I may have never talked to before.

One thing I think I improved on since my last project was my leadership skills. If you have read my previous reflection you may know that I struggle with being overbearing and controlling sometimes. In this project, I tried to let my peers take the lead, yet I still spoke up a lot and influenced a lot of our decisions. I think I acted more of a teammate and less of a CEO which is a big improvement for me. For example, I would let others talk before me so we could fully process everyone's ideas as equals. Then I would try to lead the conversation in different ways to get everyone's thoughts out there. I hope to continue with this attitude for future projects.

Another area I think excelled in during this project was the cooperation aspect. I did everything my group needed me to do which mostly included flipping pancakes (which I was more than happy to do) and videoing parts of the video. I really liked our groups' cooperation because it was so much different than my last project. In the last project, we worked on everything together while in this project we sort of talked a lot in the beginning then gave everyone different jobs to do that fit what we were good at. Although they were different approaches, I feel like they both worked well for each of the situations.

On the other hand, they were some things I think I could have improved on. For one, I think our communication was a little bit off. I feel like I didn't know what my partners were working on some of the time. In the next project, I would like to be more open with my partners. I think I could do this by keeping my mic and video on for most of the time, and just casually talking and being open to talking to anyone in general.

Going along with what I said above, when you don't really know what you're peers are doing, is it hard to tell how much they are getting done and if they are being on task or not. Although I know we got everything done with time left, I feel like it could have been executed a little bit better.

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