Physics of Sports Video

Our Task

In this project we created a video explaining the physics behind a specific action in a sport. This project took around 2-3 weeks to brainstorm, film, edit, and voice a two to three minute long informational video.

My group consisted of Owen, Fin, Payton, and me. We chose soccer as our sport, specifically the action of a penalty shot. First, we created a storyboard and script to show the general layout of the video, then spent three days filming the shots we needed to create the video. After, editing the shots together, we added voiceovers, background music, and finishing touches to complete the video.

Calculations

Content

Force of Impact (F): the force encountered when two objects collide. The force can be found using the momentum impulse formula that relates the mass, change in velocity, time of impact, and force of a collision.

Example: the force of the foot on the ball was 467.5N or 105lbs

Horizontal Velocity (Vh): the rate an object travels sideways. Horizontal velocity can be found by dividing the horizontal distance by the time in the air.

Example: Vh of the soccer ball was 9.6m/s

Vertical Velocity (Vv): the rate a falling object travels up or down. Vertical velocity is acceleration due to gravity times time of the fall.

Example: Vv of the ball was 5.64m/s

Horizontal Distance (dh): the distance a flying object travels forward

Example: the ball travels about 12yds or 11m horizontally

Vertical Distance (dv): the distance a flying object goes up or down. Vertical distance can be found by multiplying half the acceleration due to gravity (9.8m/s^2) by the time of the fall squared.

Example: the soccer ball reaches a peak of about 2.5m

Total Velocity (Vtotal): overall speed of an object, including horizontal and vertical components. Total velocity can be found using the Pythagorean Theorem

Example: the ball has a total velocity of 11.13m/s or 25mph

Elasticity: the percent of kinetic energy transferred between objects in a collision

Example: kick the ball with the laces of the foot to create the most elastic collision, and transfer the most kinetic energy from the foot to the ball.

Conservation of Momentum: momentum before collision is the same as momentum after collision

Example: the total momentum of the person and the ball is the same before and after the kick

Reflection

Altogether, this project was shorter and less challenging than the first project, and I am satisfied with the quality and clarity of our final product. Some elements we did well on were communication and character. We were able to communicate ideas clearly, and send video clips and pictures to each other in an efficient manner. My group also got along well with each other, making this project more enjoyable.

However, there were also some things my group and I could work on. For collaboration, only one person could make and edit the video on iMovie, so the work load wasn't as evenly distributed as it could be. Another thing I could improve on is time management. Since we had a shorter time period for this project, things felt a bit rushed, and how we managed our time was key. We ended up recording voiceovers on the very last day, and I had to spend some extra time at home in order to finish editing the video.