The Physics of Sports

An introduction to the science behind sports: for coaches, teachers and all sports fans

4.10 (62 reviews)
Udemy
platform
English
language
Science
category
2,062
students
2 hours
content
Aug 2018
last update
$39.99
regular price

What you will learn

Understand the physics behind popular sports

Use physical principles to solve problems relating to the physics of sports

Use sport as a means of enhancing science classes

Description

Many of us, in one way or another, have some kind of a connection to sport. Some will be sports professionals, such as coaches and athletes, whereas others may just be casual spectators admiring the achievements of competitors. Like most things in life, those achievements are determined by scientific principles.

This course aims to provide an understanding of the physical mechanisms behind many popular sporting events.

Understand the Science driving Sporting Performance

  • Learn how speed and acceleration relate to sprinting
  • Understand how Newton's laws of motion determine the path of a football
  • Apply the principles of rotational motion to gymnastics, figure skating and diving
  • Use the principle of energy conversion for estimating the height achieved in the pole vault
  • Learn what the optimum launch angles are for the long jump and other sports projectiles
  • Apply basic aerodynamics principles to the javelin throw, ski jumping and swimming
  • Estimate the effect of wind speed, altitude, temperature and equipment on various sports

Based on my successful book, "An Introduction to the Physics of Sports"!

Contents and Overview

How are Newton's three laws connected to football, and various forms of energy to cycling? What is the relationship between figure skating pirouettes and rotational motion? Do basic aerodynamics concepts influence performance in ski jumping, and hydrodynamics mechanisms, the world records in swimming?

The aim of this course is to present the physical laws that affect various sports. With the help of simple simulations and graphs, it is easily appreciated that science defines the performance of athletes, whereas at the same time the student is introduced to basic physics concepts in a novel and pleasant way.

In the seven sessions of the course, the scientific principles and theory governing specific sports and the performance of athletes are presented. For example, the concepts of velocity and acceleration are analysed through the performance of the leading short-distance athlete, Usain Bolt and Newton's three fundamental laws of motion are portrayed in football and basketball.

The course includes 24 lectures with almost 2 hours of video content, links to numerous scientific articles of mine on sports physics and links to many videos of great sporting moments. At the end of each session a quiz is included to assess student understanding.

Content

Speed, acceleration and Usain Bolt

Average, instantaneous speed and Usain Bolt's split times
Velocity and acceleration
The race of the century: Usain Bolt vs aircraft
Speed of animals, light, sound and long distance runners
Quiz for section 1

Newton playing football

Newton's laws of motion and football
Estimating the flight path of a football
The concept of momentum and basketball bounce
The principle of momentum conservation and the coefficient of restitution
Quiz for section 2

Pirouettes and rotational motion

Angular speed and the discus throw
Centripetal force and gymnastics
Simulation of a giant circle in gymnastics
Moment of inertia and angular momentum in figure skating and diving
Quiz for section 3

High energy sports

Work and power in weightlifting and cycling
Mechanical energy and the pole vault
Mechanical energy, the Fosbury Flop and skydiving
Quiz for section 4

Various sports projectiles

Projectile physics and the shot put
Effect of human anatomy on the shot put, long jump and Air Jordan
Projectile accuracy in basketball, tennis and football
Quiz for section 5

Aerodynamics in sports

The drag force
The lift and Magnus forces
Aerodynamics in sports examples and introduction to sports hydrodynamics
Quiz for section 6

Are all records the same?

The effect of wind speed on sprinting and throwing events
The effect of altitude and temperature on sprinting and cycling
The magic swimsuits
Quiz for section 7

Screenshots

The Physics of Sports - Screenshot_01The Physics of Sports - Screenshot_02The Physics of Sports - Screenshot_03The Physics of Sports - Screenshot_04

Reviews

Afzal
April 26, 2021
Its good, but lots of formula based, few normal examples would have been really great. still lots of stuff Thank you
Becky
September 11, 2020
very interesting! good reviews for me as it has been awhile since I graduated college. Thanks & keep making courses.
Vivek
October 22, 2016
During my school days, I was introduced to the same formulae and it confused me. In high school, I was introduced to the notion of differential time and things became much clearer, so I like the latter approach. Since, I myself run marathons, the idea of introducing Usain Bolt to teach kinematics was very appealing and hence I gave an overall rating of 3 stars!

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455916
udemy ID
3/24/2015
course created date
11/22/2019
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