Module 1: Describing Motion

When most people think of professional athletes, they marvel at their abilities. Professional athletes run faster and jump higher than a normal person. In this module, you will learn how physics can describe an athlete's motions. Also, you will learn how to accurately predict how far an object will travel, how long it will take to get there, and how fast it will be going at that time. Many sports professionals acknowledge the importance of physics to the world of sports, and use physics to improve athletes' performance.

Watch this video segment from The Science of NFL Football: Kinematics on the National Science Foundation's website to see how the information you learn in this module can be applied to football.

Pre-Assessment:

Think about your favorite sport and how position, velocity, and acceleration might relate to how it is played.  How important are these items to that sport? Do you think that physics can help you improve in a sport? Will the physics concepts you learn in this class help you understand motion in sports and become a better player? Visit the discussions area to explain your views to your classmates and/or share a sports experience that you think relates to physics.

Make your initial post, then return to the discussion board several times over the next few days to read your classmates’ posts. Reply to at least two of them, being sure to offer new insights, ask questions, and encourage further conversation.

Key Vocabulary:

To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.

Acceleration	Gravitational Acceleration	Slope
Air Resistance	Gravitational Force	Speed
At Rest	Instantaneous Speed	Terminal Velocity
Average Speed	Instantaneous Velocity	Uniform
Average Velocity	Magnitude	Vector
Displacement	Mathematical Model	Velocity
Distance	Position
Freefall	Scalar