Physics of Motion and Forces in Sports

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and definitions related to motion, forces, and biomechanics in sports.

Newton's First Law of Motion

An object will remain at rest or continue with constant velocity unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Kinematics

The study of motion, which involves describing the change in position of a body or object.

Linear motion

Motion in a straight line, such as an ice hockey puck sliding over the ice.

Angular motion

Motion around an axis, such as a gymnast rotating around a high bar.

Velocity

A vector quantity that includes both speed and direction.

Acceleration

The rate at which velocity changes over time; a vector quantity.

Impulse

A force applied to an object over a certain period of time that changes its momentum.

Force

A mechanical interaction between two objects that can cause a change in movement.

Momentum

The quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as the product of its mass and velocity.

Angular momentum

The quantity of rotation of a body, which is the product of its moment of inertia and angular velocity.

Coefficient of friction

A value that represents the frictional force between two surfaces in contact.

Net force

The overall force acting on an object when all the individual forces are combined.

Center of mass

The point at which the mass of a body or object is evenly distributed; its balance point.

Conservation of momentum

In a closed system, the total momentum before an event is equal to the total momentum after the event.

Scalar quantity

A quantity that has only magnitude and no direction, such as speed.

Vector quantity

A quantity that has both magnitude and direction, such as velocity.