Effect of Spin on the Trajectory of a Kicked Soccer Ball

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Introduction:
I chose this project because soccer is one of the things I love to do. Soccer is one of the most popular sports across the whole world. In soccer being able to curve a soccer ball is very helpful for multiple reasons. One reason is to bend a ball around the a wall of players. Second to possibly score an amazing goal. And last of all to make a simple pass around a defender to a teammate.
Anybody that plays soccer and enjoys it probably knows about the famous Roberto Carlos free kick. He scored this goal in 1997 against France in preparation for the 1998 world cup. The shot was taken about 30 meters from the net and a tiny bit to the right. He hit the ball so hard that it cleared the wall by a meter. It then suddenly curved to the left and went into the right upper 90.
When watching soccer most people don't think about the physics behind the flight of a struck soccer ball. That is why I am doing this project to see if the different ways the ball spins effects the trajectory of the ball. I will be focusing on three different spins of the ball using my dominant foot for all strikes on a ball at rest. All balls will be struck with similar force and in the same direction with similar lift. I will be measuring the distance traveled by each strike and its deviation from the original flight path. This will help to determine if the advantages of spinning the ball outweigh any negatives.

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Body:
In order to begin looking at the physics behind the trajectory of a kicked soccer ball we will start with seeing how Newton's Laws of Motion come into play. Newton's 1st law states that “any object at rest, will tend to stay at rest, and any object in motion, will tend to stay in motion unless acted on by an ...

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6. “Physics of free kicks: The hidden advantage of long-distance soccer shots.” Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 October 2013.
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7. “Carlos '97 Free Kick No Fluke, Say French Physicists.” Science Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 October 2013.

8. “The 'Perfect' Free Kick and the Magnus Effect.” Physics Central. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 October 2013.

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