Physics of Sports/Action
You will work in groups of 3. You must pick some aspect of a sport to cover. You will collect all the data
you can on that aspect, including video of the action being performed. All your data will be analyzed.
To Do:
1. Identify the sport or action you will investigate.
2. Capture the action on video.
3. Create a shared drive for your group.
4. Save the video in your shared drive.
5. Conduct analysis of motion of all important objects (i.e. bat and ball for a baseball swing). The
specifics will vary greatly by group. However, you should try to incorporate answers to the
following ideas:
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Was there constant velocity? If so, when and how do you know?
What is the highest velocity you measured?
How did velocity change? Why does velocity change?
What about acceleration?
o Is there acceleration?
o Is it constant?
o Does area under your acceleration graph equal the change in velocity you read from your
data table?
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What are the masses of your objects? Did you measure them or estimate them? If estimated how
did you arrive at your value?
What is the highest force you can find?
How does your video demonstrate Newtons Three Laws? How can you prove this?
What forces exist in your system? Draw a free body diagram for each of your objects.
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Please do not simply give me a list of answers to questions. Make it paragraph text. You should include
graphs and or pictures to help support your conclusions.
Physics of Sports/Action
Rubric:
Totally Inadequate Poor (1)
(0)
Video analysis Just plain wrong or Motion of only one
no logger pro file
object tracked or
present.
missing multiple
components
logger pro file is
attached
Velocities
No mention of
determined
graphs data only
and described read from tables
Accelerations No mention of
determined
graphs data only
and described read from tables
None included, or
only included so
they are there. i.e.
they do not
enhance
understanding
Outstanding (3)
Motion of all
important objects
tracked but missing
one of: axis
alignment, good
point placement.
Axis is aligned with the
important motion, point
placement is sound.
Motion of all important
objects tracked.
logger pro file attached
Tracker file is
attached
Velocity correlated with Velocity correlated
slope of position
with slope of
graphs. Not all
position graphs.
velocities determined Velocity of all
objects determined
Acceleration correlated
with slope of velocity
graphs. Not all
accelerations
determined
Text is clear Would be clearer if There is little to no flow
and coherent a 1st grader typed it. in the text or the text is
unclear.
Graphs Pictures
Acceptable (2)
Graph use is confusing
at best or is inadequate
for understanding (i.e.
missing important ones
or there are extras that
are distracting).
Velocities graphs
correlated with
displacement and slope
of position graph. All
relevant velocities
determined and
compared
Acceleration
Acceleration graphs
correlated with
correlated with change
slope of velocity
in velocity and slope of
graphs.
velocity graphs. All
Accelerations of all relevant accelerations
objects determined determined and
compared
Flow of your text is Your text is so good I
good. Your main
had to Google it to prove
points are clear and you didn't plagiarize it.
concise.
All graphs used enhance
understanding and your
explanation could not be
enhanced by including
any more. There are
none that are not
needed.
Discussion of
Forces
Text is clear Would be clearer if There is little to no flow
and coherent a monkey typed it in the text or the text is
unclear or there are
more than two
grammatical errors.
Graphs Pictures
None included, or Graph use is confusing
only included so
at best or is inadequate
they are there. i.e. for understanding (i.e.
they do not enhance missing important ones
understanding
or there are extras that
are distracting).
Flow of your text is Your text is so good I
good and there is had to Google it to prove
no more than one you didn't plagiarize it.
or two grammatical
errors. Your main
points are clear
and concise.
All graphs used enhance
understanding and your
explanation could not be
enhanced by including
any more. There are
none that are not
needed.
Physics of Sports/Action
There are opportunities for bonus points all along the way in this project. What counts as a bonus?
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Going above and beyond what I've asked for. What does this mean? I'm not sure, but I'll know it
when I see it.
Collecting extra data along the way to add to your initial video. This may include, but is not limited
to:
o Shooting new video to highlight a specific aspect
o Using some of our Vernier Sensors to collect data
Adding an experimental question that you can test (will probably also necessitate collecting more
data)