Physics Research Paper

By Rishi Ajmera, Janki Shah, and Suchi Shah

Physics is a science that involves the study of matter and its motion as well
as all applicable concepts. In relation to football, physics deals with mechanics, the
study of motion. To understand the relationship between football and physics there
are many components of physics that must be understood. The first component is
acceleration, the rate of change with respect to time. Along with that is force, the
influence on a body that changes its direction or speed. Another component is
work, the amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance.
Another key factor is displacement, the shortest distance from the initial point to
the final point. Last, but not least, is velocity, the speed and direction an object
travels.

The parabolic path the football travels through is explained from the
teachings of projectile motion. The movement of the ball is influenced by a vertical
and horizontal force. Together these forces combine and form a resultant force,
which the football takes. The football then moves in a curved line due to horizontal
and vertical forces influencing the ball. The player punting the ball is able to
control the velocity of the ball and the angle at which the ball is launched. Once the
player kicks the ball, the applied force determines the velocity the football moves
forward with.

The force of gravity acts in the vertical direction. When the football travels
up gravity slows it down until the football stops for a moment at maximum height
until the football accelerates toward the ground due to the gravitational force. The
gravitational acceleration on earth is 9.81 m/s². As the ball goes up the acceleration
is acting on it negatively, because it is pulling it back down, and after a certain
height, the acceleration begins to speed up the ball, towards the surface of the
earth.

At the scrimmage line, the players are at rest. When they begin to run, they
accelerate from a state of rest to a higher speed, to either run with the ball on
offense or to protect their end zone on defense. And when the runner sees the
opening line, the runner will place his foot to stop his motion, the runner changes
direction and accelerates up field. We can use the formula a = (vf - vi)/(tf - ti) to
find the acceleration for the speed when the runner changes directions.

Another way football is related to physics is when players are active on the
field. When running in an open field, the player can reach his maximum
momentum. Since momentum is the product of mass and velocity, it is possible for
players of different masses to have the same momentum. To calculate momentum
we can use the formula p= (mass)(velocity). Momentum is important in football for
stopping (tackling, blocking) players on the field. Whenever two players collide,
momentum is conserved. So if Player A collides into Player B, who is at rest,
Player A's momentum will decrease, and Player B's momentum will increase. Once
both quantities are added together, it is equal to the initial magnitude.

Work is the amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a

distance. For example, if a player is applying 20 Newton's of force to a football for
20 meters, the total amount of work done to the football is 400 Joules. The formula
for work is force multiplied by displacement or W=Fd.

Displacement is just the shortest distance from an initial point to a final

point. So if a player runs up 40 meters and goes to the left for 30 meters, his total
displacement is 50 meters. Since these are vector quantities, it is best to draw these
out. However, displacement remains the same for any two points. So if two players
start from the exact same point, but one takes a longer path to get to the same final
point, both players have an equal amount of displacement.