In this project, we were required to pick a sport and show the physics behind an action in that sport. For our sport, we chose Frisbee, more specifically the forehand throw. In our video, we show people how to do this, using concepts such as the stance, grip, and wrist snap. To help this, we went behind the physics of these actions, such as how stance affects your momentum, how perfecting the angle of your throw can change the distance, and how the wrist snap helps your throw. We also had calculations to help support these concepts.
Calculations and Concepts: We calculated the velocity of the Frisbee after being released.This gave us a horizontal velocity of 10.7 m/s. We found that the highest point of our throw was about 1.5 meters and it took 1.16 seconds to land on the ground. This gave us a vertical velocity of 1.2 m/s. Using the vector diagram shown in our video, we can figure out that the total velocity is 10.8 m/s which is about 24.15 mph.
Grip plays a huge role in how far/ where your Frisbee goes when thrown. To hold the Frisbee, you want to make a gun shape with your hand, then out your pointer and index finger on the inside of your Frisbee while your other two fingers are on the outside. For a better explanation, look at the video below.
We found the average momentum of the Frisbee is 1.89 Ns because our average velocity is 10.8 m/s. If the momentum increases only a little more than 1 Ns, then the velocity increases by 7 m/s which is an increase of 15 miles per hour.
We also showed how this includes air resistance and gravity. If there were no air resistance, gravity would make the Frisbee accelerate downwards at 9.8m/s2. However, because of the Frisbee’s shape and the fact that it’s spinning, the air moves faster over the top of the disc than the bottom creating low pressure above the disc and higher pressure below. This helps keep the disc in the air for longer, allowing someone to run to it and catch it. The air resistance keeps the Frisbee in the air longer, making it easier to catch. This is how an airplane’s wing works as well.
Angular momentum also plays a role in the Frisbee's motion. As the Frisbee spins, it gains angular momentum. This allows the Frisbee to "cut" through the air.
Stance plays a pretty big role on the Frisbee's momentum in a direction. To start, your feet need to be shoulder width apart. This ensures that all your momentum is going to transfer in the right direction.
The Frisbee should also be angled slightly towards the ground, as it makes sure the Frisbee does not curve too much, but instead results in a more accurate throw. Doing this also results in a throw that stays parallel to the ground the whole time. For our video, we also had to show our data in a understandable way. To do this, we tried to combine the explaining of the steps as well as including the physics behind each one. This provided an easy to follow useful video. Our Video:
Reflection: Our group struggled throughout a lot of this project, but we also did really well at some parts. First of all, we had no plans on what we were going to do each day, it was mostly on a whim. This made it so we could complete half our video in one day, and nothing in the other. But on the day we did half of our video, we made some really good choices. On that day, we really started working together and giving each person respective roles.
I feel that I also learned somethings about myself doing this project. I learned that I can adjust to new people very well, such as learning how they act around others. I also learned that I really enjoy working with other people, such as seeing others personalities and skills. Besides this, I feel I also could have improved on somethings, such as doing more work and being able to derive what work I should do than from what others are doing. I also learned that I need to adapt to other people's ideas and work styles.