Kinematics
Running in basketball is very different then running in a cross country race. The typical long distance runner must lengthen out his stride to increase the efficiency of his linear motion. Basketball has a very different running style. A players stride is shortened to increase agility on the court. Unlike cross country were the runner is always at a constant velocity, basketball has huge velocity changes from rapid acceleration to rapid deceleration. These changes in velocity give the game tempo. The game of basketball last a total of 48 minutes. The player must have the endurance of a long distance runner but the acceleration of a sprinter. Illustrated below are the calculations of acceleration of a basketball player running a total distance of 40 meters.
Forces
Newtons first law: Newtons first law is often described as " a object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force " (physicsclassroom.com) Newtons first law is seen throughout the game of basketball. The force produced by the legs of a basketball player is the forced produced to overcome inertia. This is how the players run.
Newtons second law: "The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors ; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector". (http://csep10.phys.utk.edu) When you want to find the force of the player you multiply the mass of the player by his acceleration. You can see the calculations at the bottom of this page.
Newtons third law: Newtons third law states that "for every force there is an equal and opposite force". When running in basketball your legs produce a force, the equal and opposite force is the force of friction of the court.
Newtons second law: "The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors ; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector". (http://csep10.phys.utk.edu) When you want to find the force of the player you multiply the mass of the player by his acceleration. You can see the calculations at the bottom of this page.
Newtons third law: Newtons third law states that "for every force there is an equal and opposite force". When running in basketball your legs produce a force, the equal and opposite force is the force of friction of the court.
Energy
Work/Power
![Picture](/uploads/1/3/7/5/13753541/8714627_orig.jpeg?0)
The definition of work is change in energy. The energy change for running in basketball is demonstrated in the calculation at the bottom of this page.
Power is the rate of the work. This is also shown at the bottom of the page.
Power is the rate of the work. This is also shown at the bottom of the page.