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Discussion » Questions » Sports » What are some obvious and/or some not-so-obvious connections between geometry and sports? ~

What are some obvious and/or some not-so-obvious connections between geometry and sports? ~

Posted - March 13, 2021

Responses


  • 19942
    The shape of the baseball diamond
      March 13, 2021 8:23 AM MST
    2

  • 13395
    The entire basketball court has geometry everywhere.
      March 13, 2021 9:21 AM MST
    3

  • 10449
    When you sit at just the "right angle" while watching women's volleyball, you can see "acute" "obtuse" "point" or two  (if you know what I mean).  For those who want to do higher math, create a geometric series using the given "circles".   One series can represent the distance the "circles" travel when falling, and another can represent the distance the "circles" travel when bouncing back up.  And it you don't get too carried away with the math, you might even glimpse a "closed curve" or two. 
      March 13, 2021 10:37 AM MST
    4

  • 52903

     

      I’m calling the police. 

    ~

      March 13, 2021 1:22 PM MST
    2

  • 10449
    Sounds like someone's being a square.
      March 13, 2021 2:01 PM MST
    3

  • 52903

     

      Don’t worry about me, just make sure the soap doesn’t slip from your grip. 

     


    ~

      March 13, 2021 4:17 PM MST
    3

  • 10449
    Before you get too excited, I should let you know that I'm reviving 'soap on a rope' (the bane of all shower pervs).
      March 13, 2021 5:02 PM MST
    2

  • 52903

     

      Soap on a rope may save you from dropping it, but it sure provides them with a handle to grab ahold of for “guaranteed pleasure”. (Cough, cough.)


    ~

      March 13, 2021 8:13 PM MST
    2

  • 10449
    Yeah, youre right.  But then again, it's a lot shorter handle.
      March 13, 2021 9:43 PM MST
    1

  • 52903

    Shorter than _______?


    Short handle or not, anything around your neck potentially gives opportunity for a person to violently control you. All he or she has to do is get even two fingers into, under, or around the object, and away you go. 


    ~

      March 13, 2021 9:51 PM MST
    1

  • 9777
    I'm not particularly good at either one. Or interested, for that matter.
      March 13, 2021 12:17 PM MST
    3

  • 44173
    I can only see the physics. Sorry.
      March 13, 2021 8:10 PM MST
    2

  • 52903

     

      Thank you. Oh, by the way, what are some obvious and/or not-so-obvious connections between physics and sports?
    ~

      March 13, 2021 8:31 PM MST
    1

  • 44173
    Most trajectory motions of the various balls used. Spins, launch angles. Golf balls have what is called a 'coefficient of restitution', which limits its distance. I had a physics student write a paper on the physics of 'high jumping', which was his sport. He won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics.
      March 14, 2021 12:28 PM MDT
    2

  • 32527
    Pool. Lots of angles to figure out. 
      March 13, 2021 9:52 PM MST
    2

  • 16197
    Making a safe catch in cricket. I suppose it also works with baseball. A ball coming off a bat will always travel in the shape of a parabola (offset slightly by wind and air resistance but this effect is less noticeable than with, say, football or soccer due to the density of the object), and a fielder unconsciously solves the equation in his or her head to put his or her hand in the exact right spot to catch it before it hits the ground.
      March 14, 2021 1:36 AM MST
    2

  • 44173
    Nice physics answer.
      March 14, 2021 12:29 PM MDT
    2

  • 16197
    Parabolas are quite definitely geometry. ax^2+bx+c.
      March 14, 2021 2:42 PM MDT
    2

  • 3680
    Curling: I have watched but never played it. The scoring instructions' diagrams I saw, resembled something from a geometry text-book.

    Bowling (green): precise aim and force in dead straight lines. The bowls themselves are not spherical but have two, opposing, slightly flattened faces which with their mass, gives them a gyroscopic effect like a flywheel.  

    Snooker and Billiards: inertia, momentum and the laws of reflection.

    Any ball game: any projectile including a thrown or batted ball follows a parabola.

    Clay-pigeon shooting: tracking a projectile on a parabolic trajectory, at velocity changing by square laws; though the spread of shot raises your chance of hitting it.

    Sailing: resultants of triangles of forces, plus the properties of the aerofoil.

    ;;;

    While more games than sports, Skittles and Darts:

    Skittles needs careful bowling aim and force to avoid the balls simply going through the gaps between the pins, and to knock over isolated pins on the second and third throw of the hand. Further, skittle-alleys are never exactly the same length as each other, so if playing in a league team, being an expert on your home alley may not guarantee success in away games. 

    Darts players become adept at mental arithmetic consisting almost entirely of factors and subtraction.

    (Someone once told me of a cruel trick inflicted by good darts players of bad morals on tyros by playing for money or drinks, but offering to double the novice's score each round. Since the winner is the one who finishes first by leaving exactly 0 to throw, and there is no 0 on the board, the naïve beginner may make impressive progress early in the game, but cannot win.)      
      April 5, 2021 4:11 PM MDT
    2

  • 52903

     

      Thank you!
      ~

      April 5, 2021 4:29 PM MDT
    0