How are the principles of projectile motion applied in soccer? (team)

       Projectile motion appears in many sports including basketball, baseball,volleyball, etc. In this blog, the sport we'll be talking about is soccer. The factors that affects the ball in soccer is gravity, air resistance, and the weight which all play a fundamental role in the principles of projectile motion.

Vx=Vi*t or 

Vx=V*sine*thrown angle if thrown at an angle

Vy=1/2*(9.8m/s^2)*t^2 if thrown horizontally or

Vy=V*cos*thrown angle if thrown at an angle

• V_y is the vertical component of the football's initial velocity
• g is acceleration due to Earth's gravity, 9.8 m/s^2 downwards 
• t is the time for the projectile from launching to landing

V_x is the horizontal component of the football's initial velocity

      In the concept of soccer, the amount of force a soccer player applies to the ball; For example, how hard the individual kicks will determine the initial velocity of how fast the ball will travel. This velocity is dictated by the initial acceleration. The acceleration is controlled by how hard the person kicks. Thus, it also determines the angle as well.

      The angle of how the soccer player kicks the ball also determines the height and distance it travelled  For example, if the ball is kicked at an angle of 45 degrees it will get the maximum range. It also affects the vertical and horizontal velocity.

      For gravity, there is always a force of 9.8m/s^2 that acts downward; thus, affecting the vertical distance of how far and high the balls travels. The gravity affecting the horizontal distance is a common misconception. This is because,  the force of gravity is always directly perpendicular and the horizontal distance is always dependent on the initial velocity. Essentially, the gravity influences the vertical distance. The gravity affects the ball because it slows down the ball as it goes up until it reaches its peak. Once this has been achieved, the acceleration will gradually speed up to reach -9.8m/s^2 until it hits the ground

      Furthermore, the air resistance also limits how high and far the ball travels as the resistance acts as a minor force which can be at times negligible. The weight of the ball can also affect how far and high the ball can travel as it becomes heavier when flying in the air.

   In terms of dribbling the ball, the amount of force applied to it will also determine how far the ball can row. Note: soccer fields are not perfectly smooth so this plays a factor. However, this is not on topic.

  The rotation of the soccer ball wouldn't  have much of an effect because the ball is spherical unlike football. In terms of football, the shape of the ball in relation to the soccer ball is very different. For football, the rotation is dictated by the shape. Because it is an oval-like object, this diversity in shape changes how the ball moves and the distance it has covered. Also, the ball may tend to spiral due to the football's shape. This is known as air drag. This affects soccer as well because both objects fly through air; forming air resistance.

  The size of the object also plays an important role in determining the air drag. The bigger the projectile, the bigger the air drag. The smaller the projectile, the smaller the air drag. The shape of the object will also affect the air drag. That is why soccer ball is sphere instead of a cube.Sphere has better aerodynamics than cubes do.

  Overall, projectile motion is very closely associated with soccer. Projectile motion is associated with almost all types of sports. Physics is very useful in our lives. Through learning physics, we can now explain some phenomena happening in soccer which we could not explain before. Thank you projectile motion unit! Let we gained good solid knowledge.