Shane Babb
Honors Physics
Robin Pahr
14 October 2015
Physics in the Sport of Gymnastics Gymnastics. A sport in which gymnasts perform jumps, cartwheels, turns, handstands, and more on an apparatus such as a balance beam, floor mat, or even with a piece of rope or ribbon. Many people do not realize or care for the physics within a sport. However, every sport involves physics in some way, fashion, or form, and with all of the things that occur in gymnastics some form of physics must be involved. Throughout the course of this essay we will go into an examination of gymnastics. We will discuss the part that physics plays in gymnastics. First, physics is involved all throughout the sport of gymnastics. Actually, just about everything in this world …show more content…
Well, a gymnast will run during the duration of the vault and will stay in motion until an outside force acts upon them. After they reach the horse, they will stay in the air until that outside force acts upon them. That force is known as none other than gravity (-9.8 m/s2 ). Newton’s Second Law fits very close to the first law. It tells us that mass and acceleration are directly proportional in regards to force. This is known as the formula, F=(m)(a), which is force equals mass times acceleration. The more mass and acceleration a gymnast has when running at the vault, the greater the force produced on the vault. A gymnast must reach a maximum velocity on their approach to the springboard in order to produce a maximum force. Then, Newton’s Third Law states, “that for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.” When the gymnast jumps on a springboard, they exert a force on the board, which in turn gives an equivalent force on the springboard, and that in turn gives an equal force to the gymnast and propels them into the air. When the gymnast pushes off the horse, their hands exert a downward force and have equal upward force exerted on them by the horse. This is how physics relates to the
Honors Physics
Robin Pahr
14 October 2015
Physics in the Sport of Gymnastics Gymnastics. A sport in which gymnasts perform jumps, cartwheels, turns, handstands, and more on an apparatus such as a balance beam, floor mat, or even with a piece of rope or ribbon. Many people do not realize or care for the physics within a sport. However, every sport involves physics in some way, fashion, or form, and with all of the things that occur in gymnastics some form of physics must be involved. Throughout the course of this essay we will go into an examination of gymnastics. We will discuss the part that physics plays in gymnastics. First, physics is involved all throughout the sport of gymnastics. Actually, just about everything in this world …show more content…
Well, a gymnast will run during the duration of the vault and will stay in motion until an outside force acts upon them. After they reach the horse, they will stay in the air until that outside force acts upon them. That force is known as none other than gravity (-9.8 m/s2 ). Newton’s Second Law fits very close to the first law. It tells us that mass and acceleration are directly proportional in regards to force. This is known as the formula, F=(m)(a), which is force equals mass times acceleration. The more mass and acceleration a gymnast has when running at the vault, the greater the force produced on the vault. A gymnast must reach a maximum velocity on their approach to the springboard in order to produce a maximum force. Then, Newton’s Third Law states, “that for every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction.” When the gymnast jumps on a springboard, they exert a force on the board, which in turn gives an equivalent force on the springboard, and that in turn gives an equal force to the gymnast and propels them into the air. When the gymnast pushes off the horse, their hands exert a downward force and have equal upward force exerted on them by the horse. This is how physics relates to the