Projectile Motion
Title Page Projectile Motion
Friction Magnus Effect Bibliography
When the soccer ball is kicked into the air
it becomes a projectile and follows a parabolic path through the
air. This is how soccer players get the ball up and over
defenders with free kicks and across the field with crosses. As
the ball is in the air there are only a few forces acting on it,
gravity and air resistance. Gravity is always acting towards the
ground and is what causes the ball to arc and fall back to the
ground. Air resistance slows the ball down in flight making is
velocity in the x direction decrease as it travel through the
air. As with any projectile, a soccer ball flying through the
air follows the equations for projectile motion below and
follows a similar path to that shown in the figure.
