The Physics of Football Quiz | Sci / Tech

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Some of my players aren't too bright, so I avoid big words while explaining that physics is the study of matter (an example is the matter of a defensive tackle) and its "what" through space and time?

Answer: motion

The word "physics" is derived from the Greek meaning, "knowledge of nature." This essential science is key to explaining how things work, on and off the football field. It is one of the oldest fields of science, dating to the Greeks in 650 BC.

2. I've drawn X's and O's and squiggly lines until I'm blue in the face (might be those dry-erase fumes as well), but the most important components good players understand is the part of physics that involves the study of motion, known as what?

Answer: mechanics

The study of mechanics involves how a physical body, like a football, is subjected to outside forces and/or displacement (like a cut block tackle). The word "mechanics" comes from the Greek, and was extensively developed by the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Archimedes (no, they didn't play for the Green Bay Packers). Progression in the field brought us the work of Sir Isaac Newton and his three laws of motion, the stuff of football legends.

3. When working with my new quarterbacks, we usually discuss how the football curves through the air (I usually say, "like a rainbow", as they understand that better). I'll sometimes bust out a fancy word that refers to the best description of the geometric, two-dimensional shape traveled by a football. Ignoring air resistance, what word is that?

Answer: parabola

Most my players seem to understand that what goes up must come down, and that is roughly how a parabola is defined. The concept includes the arc on which a ball travels from Point A to Point B as it rises and falls under gravity. Generally, the ball travels upward to a point (called the vertex) and is slowed by gravity along the way. At the top, it starts moving downward, and is accelerated back down to earth to hopefully be caught by our receiver for a touchdown.

A real football, of course, encounters air resistance, so its path is not quite a perfect parabola, but to the naked eye it looks like one.

Special thanks to Looney_Tunes for his contribution to this question.

4. Sometimes our games come down to precious points kicked by our kickers. When we work on making as many of those kicks split the uprights as possible, we talk about the term that means the speed, PLUS the angle and direction of an object. This is known as an object's what?

Answer: velocity

The pep talk on velocity helps our kickers understand how speed and direction assist them in making a field goal or kicking an extra point. The equation for calculating velocity is displacement divided by time. It is our hope that a football perfectly kicked reaches a velocity that allows it to split the goalpost, thus giving us three points on the scoreboard.

5. We require our offensive line to spend many hours with our strength and conditioning coach to help improve the amount of matter their bodies contain, a term called what?

Answer: mass

The word "mass" comes from the Greek word meaning "lump of dough." We definitely try for something a little firmer than dough. Mass helps our defensive line get to the quarterback and helps our offensive line repel defenders. I had to explain to our nose guard that weight is not the same as mass in that weight is a force acting upon an object, moving it away from what would be its path in a free fall.

6. An important component of every football game, especially those played in the rain, are our football cleats, those fancy, spiked shoes worn by all players. I explained to our strong safety that his "superstar skills" didn't stem from his new cleats, but because his cleats used what force resisting motion to stop and start?

Answer: friction

Friction is extremely important on a football field, from the movement of players to the control of the football. Friction involves contact between two items converting energy into heat. This component is seen when cleats dig into turf as an offensive line protects the quarterback, and it is also seen in the clammy hand prints left on a football protected during the run. That much energy is not without its downside though, as seen in the wear on the football field and the gradual wearing down of equipment.

7. I've looked near and far for recruits able to get up and go, and every time I think I found one, the University of Alabama takes him. My top secret best prospect for tight end has mastered the rate at which velocity changes over time, known as what?

Answer: acceleration

The acceleration of a football player would be important to determine how fast an individual can move from the line of scrimmage to full speed (hopefully with the football in hand). The faster, the better, when it comes to football. As a football player does not have infinite amounts of speed to give, eventually acceleration gives way to velocity when the individual reaches a consistent maximum speed before eventually decelerating in the end zone.

8. When I'm working with my defensive line, we discuss the amount of force required to rotate an object around an axis point. This is very important when sacking a quarterback before he throws the ball. What is this amount of force better known as?

Answer: torque

It is important for my players to understand torque, which is, in the simplest of terms, the idea of twisting something by force. When a tackle is made, my defensive player wraps himself around the quarterback's center of gravity (chest-to-hips), and twists to slam that poor soul to the ground.

The study of torque is very old, going all the way back to the Greek mathematician, Archimedes, as he studied different types of levers.

9. My team is known for my big running backs, guys that like to bust through the line and juke a defender all the way to the end zone. So we do a lot of film review and discuss the energy our backs have in motion, which is known as what?

Answer: kinetic energy

Kinetic energy is defined as the work required to accelerate mass to a given velocity. The word "kinetic" comes from a Greek root meaning "energy." As a concept, the theory of kinetic energy can be traced to the work of Aristotle from 335-323 BC. The amount of kinetic energy something has is based on the components of mass and speed.

10. As scientists like to apply their knowledge toward proof, I like to test my team in real life to see how well they apply these physics lessons. As such, a running back is running near the sideline heading for a touchdown. Which one of these players has the most relative momentum to use against the running back, giving him the best chance of making a tackle?

Answer: 280-lb tackle running perpendicular to the sideline at 15 mph

Momentum is determined from multiplying the mass of a player by his velocity. As such, a 280-lb (127-kg) tackle running perpendicular would have the best chance at tackling the running back. The momentum of all other players above, compared to the person they're trying to tackle, is diminished by their direction of travel.

Special thanks to Funtrivia player, 1nn1, for his contribution to this question.

Source: Author TemptressToo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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The Physics of Football Trivia Quiz

A perfectly thrown football is a beautiful thing, as is the unstoppable run to the end zone. Don't tell the jocks playing Saturday but the key to gridiron success comes from physics.

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