Blog #2 ~09-29-12 @ 2:30 p.m.

Projectile Motions of a Soccer Ball

      Today I had a soccer game and I began to notice the physics of the soccer ball. When you want to keep possession of the soccer ball, your team usually passes the ball on the ground. However, when you want to make a penetrating pass to go behind the defense, a pass in the air can be helpful. In the picture below, a soccer player wants to make that penetrating pass and kicks the ball in the air. As the ball leaves the player's foot, the ball has both horizontal and vertical velocity. The horizontal velocity of the ball remains constant. The vertical velocity will decrease as the ball reaches it peak and then accelerate as the ball goes downward from its peak. The constant acceleration of gravity causes the ball's vertical velocity to act that way. In addition, the ball travels in a parabolic way. When a soccer player kicks the ball with a greater force, the peak of the soccer ball will be higher. I also noticed Newton's first law: an object that is at rest remains at rest unless acted upon by another force. The ball originally is at rest. But the soccer player kicks the ball, causing it to move. 

Soccer player kicks the ball