Physics of Sports
Overview
Our Physics of Sports video covered the basic physics of the winning hit in an air hockey game. You could use this video as a reference point when trying to score the winning point, like we did in our video.
In our Physics of Sports video, we talked about multiple different physics behind the movement of the puck. We talked about air resistance (or more like air assistance, since the air is helping to move the puck), velocity of the puck, friction on the sides of the table, potential energy to kinetic energy of the puck, and force of the puck in motion. If you want to know more, scroll down to the 'Terms.'
Our Physics of Sports video was very fun to make. It didn't take too much time to make, and we had lots of fun while filming. Our goal as a group was to make our film enjoyable to watch, and I hope we accomplished that. We decided this goal after watching multiple of the previous STEM class' videos, and seeing that they were (no offense) pretty boring. So, we wanted to make ours somewhat entertaining, while still addressing the physics of our sport well.
I believe that our project could have been better if we had done the audio and lighting of the film better. While I'm talking about the physics during the film, the tone of my voice is boring. If I had recorded the audio with more enthusiasm, I think that the physics part of our video would have been not as monotonous.
During this project, I learned that I am a good facilitator in a group. I always try to be very kind to everyone, and when there is tension in my group, I try to resolve it. When there is an argument or a disagreement in my group, I tend to try and break it up and find a better solution for both sides.
Here, you can watch our Physics of Sports video:
In our Physics of Sports video, we talked about multiple different physics behind the movement of the puck. We talked about air resistance (or more like air assistance, since the air is helping to move the puck), velocity of the puck, friction on the sides of the table, potential energy to kinetic energy of the puck, and force of the puck in motion. If you want to know more, scroll down to the 'Terms.'
Our Physics of Sports video was very fun to make. It didn't take too much time to make, and we had lots of fun while filming. Our goal as a group was to make our film enjoyable to watch, and I hope we accomplished that. We decided this goal after watching multiple of the previous STEM class' videos, and seeing that they were (no offense) pretty boring. So, we wanted to make ours somewhat entertaining, while still addressing the physics of our sport well.
I believe that our project could have been better if we had done the audio and lighting of the film better. While I'm talking about the physics during the film, the tone of my voice is boring. If I had recorded the audio with more enthusiasm, I think that the physics part of our video would have been not as monotonous.
During this project, I learned that I am a good facilitator in a group. I always try to be very kind to everyone, and when there is tension in my group, I try to resolve it. When there is an argument or a disagreement in my group, I tend to try and break it up and find a better solution for both sides.
Here, you can watch our Physics of Sports video:
Physics Concepts
- Concept #1: Due to air pushing up on the puck (air assistance), the puck is being levitated in the air above the table. Because of this, there is no friction as the puck moves. The puck will continue to move at a constant speed, because there is no unbalanced force (friction) acting on it, much like Newton stated in his First Law of Motion.
- Concept #2: In air hockey, the puck has to make it into the other player's goal. However, the puck can be deflected from entering the goal by the other player. So, to score, you must hit the puck fast. We measured the amount of velocity necessary to make it into the goal without the puck being deflected. To score a goal, any speed more than 2 meters per second will be good.
- Concept #3: Although there is no friction on the surface of the table, there is still friction that slows the puck down every time the puck hits the sides of the air hockey table. Because of this, to compensate for the lost speed, you should hit the puck with more force to get the puck moving faster.
- Concept #4: Although this concept will not aid you in your endeavor to score a goal, we felt that we should include for the sake of physics. When you hit the puck, the puck's energy transfers from Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy.
- Concept #5: If you happen to mess up your shot during an air hockey game like I did, then this concept might help you out! When the puck flew through the air, it hit Conrad with force. This force happened to be enough to let me win by default in the air hockey game. Accidents happen in physics and engineering, but sometimes these accidents lead to greater discoveries!
Terms
- Air Resistance- A force that is caused by air. The force acts in the opposite direction to an object moving through the air.
- Newton's First Law of Motion- "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."
- Velocity- The rate of change of the position of an object, equivalent to a specification of its speed and direction of motion.
- Friction- The force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other.
- Potential Energy- Energy an object has stored because of its position.
- Kinetic Energy- Energy an object has due to motion.
- Force- Any interaction which tends to change the motion of an object.