The Physics of Ping Pong
Video created by Hannah Bergo, Joey Stickle, Olivia Matheson, and Luke Shroyer.
Physics Concepts
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For this project we first found a sport and a sports action. Then we had the task of finding the physics for that sports action. My group and I choose the sport of ping pong, and the action of serving the ball. We wanted to cover a unique sport, and one that will help many students in the school. We spent a little over a week to plan, film, and edit our videos. Our two physics components we covered were force and velocity of the serve. The force of the paddle hitting the ball is 1.1 newton, or roughly 0.25 lbs. The velocity of the ball traveling over the net is 4.07 meters per second, or about 13.35 feet per second. |
Velocity: The rate of distance traveled over a period of time. We used the equation change in distance divided by change in time. The velocity showed how fast the ping pong ball traveled in a certain direction after it was served.
Force:The push or pull on an object which causes change in motion. Our paddle pushed on the ping pong ball, causing it to change motion and go over the net. The equation we used was mass times velocity equals force times time (mv=ft).
In the calculations, we used a lot of the skills we had learned from algebra to figure out the physics.
Force:The push or pull on an object which causes change in motion. Our paddle pushed on the ping pong ball, causing it to change motion and go over the net. The equation we used was mass times velocity equals force times time (mv=ft).
In the calculations, we used a lot of the skills we had learned from algebra to figure out the physics.
Reflection
This project provided a lot of new opportunities to learn. One thing I learned how to do was operate the movie maker. I had no idea on how to work with the program, and now I feel as if I can use the program confidently. I learned how to import videos, add sound, edit clips, modify the time on a certain shot, and many other tasks. I also learned a lot of new physics concepts. For example, the reason why the velocity of the ping pong ball traveling over the net is so large is because the ball has a very light mass which allows it to travel at high speeds when hit. This project taught me a lot of new information that I had not known before.
This project had a lot of challenges. Getting distracted was our biggest problem. We would have one person working on the video while the rest of the group would be wandering around or sitting down, doing nothing. One of my biggest problems was that I had a really hard time focusing some days, especially when the period was almost over. Next time, I will try to stay focused. Another thing was time management; the first days went by really slow, where we completed very little. By the end, my group and I were rushed to finish. However when we were rushed in the end, I really helped with the video. I believe that I did a very good job voicing out my ideas to the group. For example, many of the slides were influenced by my ideas. One other thing I feel like I did well on was listening to other people's ideas. I compromised with my group on other ideas for the movie. The video is a collection of everyone's thoughts and ideas.
I got the opportunity to learn so many new things during this project, and the end result is something I am happy with.
This project had a lot of challenges. Getting distracted was our biggest problem. We would have one person working on the video while the rest of the group would be wandering around or sitting down, doing nothing. One of my biggest problems was that I had a really hard time focusing some days, especially when the period was almost over. Next time, I will try to stay focused. Another thing was time management; the first days went by really slow, where we completed very little. By the end, my group and I were rushed to finish. However when we were rushed in the end, I really helped with the video. I believe that I did a very good job voicing out my ideas to the group. For example, many of the slides were influenced by my ideas. One other thing I feel like I did well on was listening to other people's ideas. I compromised with my group on other ideas for the movie. The video is a collection of everyone's thoughts and ideas.
I got the opportunity to learn so many new things during this project, and the end result is something I am happy with.