Bouncing Balls: Basketball

896 Words2 Pages

Have you ever asked yourself how much energy or effort it really takes to dribble a basketball? Energy can only mean one thing: the strength required in a physical or mental activity such as basketball. Every time someone would bounce a basketball on the floor it has to transmit energy for the ball to come back into the air, or into your hands. Without the force of energy, you couldn’t handle the ball like the way you’re supposed to in the game. Why is it when you stop dribbling a basketball, the ball stops bouncing? Being a basketball player requires you to put force onto the ball, to make the ball bounce. Every time you dribble the ball energy is required. In this experiment you will see how the ball bounces on different surfaces such as wood, cement, and carpet will influence the height of the ball itself!
Physics plays a major role in the game of basketball. Physics is the science that deals with properties of matter and energy. Whether it’s shooting, passing, or dribbling, to most studies in the game of basketball, the piece of the physics is seen in the shot and spin of the ball. There are two major types of shots that will help understand the effort it takes to dribble a basketball. The two types of shots could be a lay-up which is putting the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. A jump shot is a jump used in the legs that leads to an arch in your shot. With these two types of shots, dribbling becomes easier to understand. How much force you put into your arm by pressing down on top of the ball helps the ball come up harder from the surface. For example, if you tried to bounce a ball on the carpet you’re going to have to use more force or energy to make the ball c...

... middle of paper ...

...s exert calories, such as playing a half hour, losing 120 calories within that half hour running up and down the courts. Having more calories can mean having more energy to do more things such as pushing the ball up and down the court watching the ball bounce, using the energy in your body.

Works Cited

http://www2.hesston.edu/Physics/Basketball/Paperpg.htm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/147292-why-do-balls-bounce-differently/

http://francesa.phy.cmich.edu/people/andy/physics110/book/Chapters/Chapter

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCgQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chariho.k12.ri.us%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Felastic_and_inelastic_collision_1.ppt&ei=9AYmU4PKMcSwyQGrvoGACA&usg=AFQjCNHpTBCDUKo38NOcSuBdP7GWXO-8BA&sig2=ttpMq5Zy9xCQt5rRtp5D0w&bvm=bv.62922401,d.aWc

https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=87

Open Document