The Physics of a Tennis serve
The end goal for the physics of sport video was to help improve the action in the video and see the physics behind the action. We focused on the components of a tennis serve. Our steps were the toss of the ball, the knee bend, the acceleration of the racket, the contact with the ball, and the arc of the ball
The Ball Toss: We decided to find the potential energy of the ball before making contact with it. We used the equation potential energy equals mass times acceleration due to gravity times height. After plugging our numbers in, we found that our potential energy was 1.70 Joules.
The Knee Bend: This is a critical step in order to be successful at serving. Bending your knees helps you get the maximum power out of your body. The power is then transferred to the arm.
The Acceleration of the Racket: For this step, our group used the equation, acceleration equals change in velocity over the change in time. We found the racket had an acceleration of 100 meters per second squared.
The Contact of the Ball: Using the equation momentum equals impulse, which is mv=ft, we found the force the racket exerts on the tennis ball. That force was 293 Newtons
The Arc of the Ball: In this step, we calculated the velocity of the ball when it hits the ground on the other side. Using the Pythagorean Theorem, we plugged our horizontal and vertical velocities to find a maximum velocity of 15.72 meters per second
Reflection
During the weeks of making this video, I learned many things about myself and about life skills. The major thing I learned about myself is that I get distracted easily during group work. I always want to get up and see the cool, great things that other groups are doing. However, after this project, I realized I wasn't with my group a lot besides the times when I was helping make the video. The life skill that I learned is the fact that sometimes you have to work with people who you don't want to be around all the time. This is not meant to be a mean statement, or a statement targeted at only one person. I just thought I might mention it because unfortunately, there are guaranteed times in a persons life that they will have to learn this life skill. Overall, this was a very fun project and I had a great time making the physics of a sport video.
During the weeks of making this video, I learned many things about myself and about life skills. The major thing I learned about myself is that I get distracted easily during group work. I always want to get up and see the cool, great things that other groups are doing. However, after this project, I realized I wasn't with my group a lot besides the times when I was helping make the video. The life skill that I learned is the fact that sometimes you have to work with people who you don't want to be around all the time. This is not meant to be a mean statement, or a statement targeted at only one person. I just thought I might mention it because unfortunately, there are guaranteed times in a persons life that they will have to learn this life skill. Overall, this was a very fun project and I had a great time making the physics of a sport video.