biomechanics

• what s biomechanics

  the study of how the principles of physics apply to human movement.
• why is it important to understand the principles of biomechanics

  for analysing athletic performance, preventing injuries, and designing effective training programs
• what Newton's law of motion

  1 - the law of inertia

  2 - the law of acceleration

  3 - the law of action-reaction
• what is the law of inertia

  an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an external force
• what is an example of the law of inertia

  a rugby ball remains stationary until a player kicks it (applying force). once in motion, it continues flying until gravity and air resistance slows it down
• what is the law of acceleration

  the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass
• what is an example of the law of acceleration

  a cricket bowler generates more force to accelerate a heavier ball, resulting in a faster delivery
• what is the law of action-reaction

  for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
• what is an example of the law of action-reaction

  a swimmer propels forward (action) by pushing against the water (reaction)
• what is speed

  how fast an object is moving
• what is distance

  the total length of the path travelled
• what is scalar 


  a quantity that has only magnitude (size) e.g. speed and distance
• what is vector

  a quantity that has both magnitude and direction e.g. velocity (speed with direction) and displacement (distance with direction)
• what is the formula for speed

  distance (meters, m) / time (seconds, s) and is measured in meters per second (m/s)
• what is the formula for acceleration

  change in velocity (meters per second, m/s) / time (seconds, s) and is measured in meters per second squared (m/s2)
• what is the formula for momentum

  mass (kilograms, kg) * velocity (meters per second, m/s) and is measured in kilogram-meters per second (kg m/s)