The Acceleration of Jumping & Throwing

Force, acceleration, and trajectory are essential in track and field. When understanding these concepts from physics, athletes can appreciate elements of technique learned from coaches.

The following graph is excerpted from The Science of Track & Field: Volume 1 (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved). 

Discussion Questions:

1. What information is contained in this graph?
2. Name several events from track and field which involve similar patterns of motion as described by  this graph.
3. What is the maximum height of the device?
4. What occurs during the portion of the graph where no acceleration is recorded at all?
5. Describe the trajectory of the device. 
6. What occurs at approximately 3 seconds?
7. What forces act on the wireless device? 
8. What is the maximum force? 
9. What causes the maximum force to occur?
10. How could the maximum force be reduced? Increased?

Additional Information

Schottenbauer Publishing

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