Throwing a ball through the air seems simple enough, so why do scientists study the effects of air on a sports ball? Veritasium presents a video in its playlist that explains the Magnus force to help athletes throw curve balls. It describes the many forces acting upon a ball as it travels through the air.

Concepts

air, projectile motion, friction

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Recreate the inclined plane demonstration at the beginning of the video to verify the results

Classroom Considerations

• Relies on prior knowledge of air currents and force vectors
• Avoid sharing the comments, as the topic allows for many inappropriate jokes

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Relates science to sports
• Requires very little class time

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.9-10.2 SL.11-12.2 RST.9-10.4 RST.11-12.4