Thinking on Your Feet: Football and Physics – Guidance for Teachers
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FOR teachers The Institute of Physics is a leading scientific society. We are a charitable organisation with a worldwide membership of more than 50,000, working together to advance physics education, research and application. We engage with policymakers and the general public to develop awareness and understanding of the value of physics and, through IOP Publishing, we are world leaders in professional scientific communications. In September 2013, we launched our first fundraising campaign. Our campaign, Opportunity Physics, offers you the chance to support the work that we do. Visit us at www.iop.org/fundraising acknowledgements This resource was written by Lawrence Cattermole and Neil Atkin. Thanks to Jack McNicholl and Samir Singh from Arsenal in the Community for supporting the development of this resource. Designed and produced by chacha.co.uk CONTeNTS INTrODuCTION 2 OVerVIeW OF SeSSIONS 3 SeSSION 1 7 How can yOu kICk AND THrow A bALL FurTHer? SeSSION 2 10 TAkINg beTTer PenaltieS SeSSION 3 13 How can yOu acceLerate faster? SeSSION 4 16 What MAkeS A gOOD pass? SeSSION 5 19 FOrCeFuL tackLINg SeSSION 6 22 How can yOu CONTrOL A bALL eFFeCTIVeLy? SeSSION 7 25 uSINg yOur bODy FOr bALANCe AND stabILITy SeSSION 8 28 How can yOu SPIN AND beND THe bALL? PHySICS explanationS 31 what do students do in INTrODuCTION the sessions? Thinking on your feet: football and Each session starts in the classroom with a teacher physics is a pack of resources aimed introduction that poses a question of key importance at engaging students with physics in football, relating to different areas of an expert by showing its relevance to football. footballer’s performance. The focus is then narrowed to The pack is structured into eight show how a specific aspect of physics can be used to give an insight into why footballers do what they do. sessions intended to be organised as extra-curricular activities. each Students then move on to the main activity in which they session, like a football match, consists try to design a practical demonstration that could be of ‘45 minutes each way’ with the used to support an explanation of the physics underlying this aspect of footballing performance. The emphasis, first half being done in the classroom therefore, is on thinking about how they can explain the exploring the physics, and the second ideas to an audience (e.g. of their friends, or football half on the pitch applying the ideas. fans), rather than on doing a traditional investigation to find an answer. Students are encouraged throughout the The resources are intended for materials to think creatively about how to communicate students aged 11-16. While being the ideas, including using their mobile phones, designed to be accessible to younger where available, to make video clips of the practical students, they can also provide demonstrations. The most important thing is that every suitable challenges to stretch higher- student should have a positive experience and feel attaining pupils. The approach has that there is something that physics has to say about football, even if they are not able to fully articulate a proved popular and successful with complete explanation. both boys and girls, and it is hoped that the resources have the potential These ideas can then be explored further by applying to widen participation in physics by them on the pitch. As well as focusing on improving their own footballing performance, students need to engaging with hard-to-reach students. test out the ideas that they developed in the practical demonstrations and see how they apply in the richer context of football. After the session there are further practice activities that students can undertake in their own time to improve their skills and their understanding of the physics. 2 OVerVIeW OF SeSSIONS session titLe KeY in the cLassroom on the Pitch PhYsics students shouLd: students ideas shouLd Practise: How can you Projectiles Make predictions about what Throwing and kicking the kick and angle might give the largest ball at different angles to 1 Velocity, throw a ball range based on thinking find the optimum angle for distance, further? about extreme conditions. increasing the range. angle Plan an experiment to find Techniques that enable Experimental the optimum angle to kick or them to kick and throw at design throw a ball. this angle. Draw conclusions from their Improving the distance results and evaluate the they can manage to throw method used. and kick. Relate what they have learned to the real world and why measured values may not match the theoretical value. Taking better Accuracy, Make predictions about the Improving their penalty kick 2 penalties probability best place to aim for penalty technique. kicks. Experimental Disguising which way they design Observe videos of will kick the penalty. penalties and record their Choosing a suitable spot in observations. the goal and being able to hit Analyse data about the that target. outcomes of penalties. Draw conclusions from data and use these to suggest successful strategies for penalty takers and goalkeepers. Calculate time of travel of a ball from given data. How can you Distance, Use appropriate terminology Running on their toes and 3 accelerate displacement, to describe the motions running with the ball under faster? speed, of objects. control. velocity, Distinguish between speed Explosive starts and acceleration (or velocity) and acceleration. improving their acceleration. Investigate and measure the Knowing how to get ahead motion of a rolling marble. of an opponent who has a greater acceleration. Design a demonstration to show the difference between Beating the offside trap in a acceleration and top speed. free kick. 3 OVerVIeW OF SeSSIONS session titLe KeY in the cLassroom on the Pitch PhYsics students shouLd: students ideas shouLd Practise: What makes Effects of Use modeling to demonstrate Passing a ball accurately 4 a good forces the relative times it takes on the ground over greater pass? for a ball to arrive at a distances. Friction and air teammate’s feet, depending resistance Establish over what distance on the type of pass. each player needs to loft the Force diagrams Identify the forces acting on ball to get the distance. an object as it moves along the ground or in the air. Draw and label force diagrams using conventions presented. Relate the practical demonstration to the way that footballers pass the ball. Forceful Force, impact Recognise that certain Taking each other on, trying 5 tackling area, stress factors increase the risk of to get past with the ball. injury from tackling. Jockeying an opponent to Design a practical prevent them getting past demonstration that shows with the ball. these effects, qualitatively (With appropriate coaches/ and quantitatively. teachers only: safe ways Explain how a reduced of tackling.) impact area increases the potential damage done. Relate the practical demonstration to safe and dangerous play. How can you Elastic and Recognise that different Controlling the ball with 6 control a ball inelastic parts of the body can be different parts of the body, effectively? collisions, used to control a moving ball, including softer parts e.g. energy either to stop it or redirect it. chest and thigh. Materials, Explain how controlling the Actively ‘cushioning’ the structures ball depends on the part ball with different parts of of the body used and how the body. much the ball is actively Safely heading the ball. cushioned. Design a demonstration that shows how much a ball rebounds from different surfaces and structures. Relate the demonstration to the way that footballers control the ball. 4 OVerVIeW OF SeSSIONS session titLe KeY in the cLassroom on the Pitch PhYsics students shouLd: students ideas shouLd Practise: Using your Centre of mass Recognise that the stability Changing direction quickly, body for of objects is dependent on with and without the ball. 7 Balance and balance and several factors, including stability Paying more attention to stability how the mass is distributed body movements when within the object. practising any skill. Design a practical Trying to repeat any demonstration that shows movement performed with its this effect. mirror image. Identify the differences in effect between an inanimate object and an active person in balancing. Relate the practical demonstration to the way that footballers move in different situations. How can Translational Recognise that spherical or Different ways of kicking 8 you spin and and rotational cylindrical objects can be across the ball to get spin. bend the motion made to spin and this Exploring sidespin with ball? affects their movement Backspin, the inside and outside of through the air. topspin, the foot. sidespin Design a demonstration Exploring backspin and that shows these effects Surface topspin and trying to kick it using video. contact, with no spin. effect of air Explain how spin can be imparted on a spherical or cylindrical object and why it affects the motion. Relate the demonstration to the way that footballers spin and bend the ball in different situations. 5 what ideas are covered heaLth and saFetY in the sessions? For each activity, safety advice is given to From a footballing perspective, the early sessions help you assess any risks. In drawing it up, (1-3) are intended to motivate through their focus on we have assumed an average group of 11 to maximizing performance on simple tasks (distance of 14 year-olds. You may need additional control kick, accuracy, running speed). Sessions 4-6 look at measures if working with younger pupils, those basic aspects of the game (passing, tackling, controlling with behaviour problems or pupils with motor the ball), while sessions 7-8 are concerned with more control difficulties. You should do your own risk subtle aspects of the game (balancing the body, assessment for each activity.