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Project Summary

Difficulty  4 
Time required Very Short (a day or less)

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* Note: This is an abbreviated project idea, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.

Abstract

Take shots at a set distance from the basket, but systematically vary the angle to the backboard. For a basic project: How do you think your success rate will vary with angle? Draw a conclusion from your experimental results. A bar graph showing success rate at different angles can help to illustrate your conclusion. For a more advanced project: Use your knowledge of geometry and basketball to come up with a mathematical expression to predict your success rate as a function of angle (measured as a percentage of your success rate with straight-on shots)? How well does your prediction agree with your actual results? (Idea from Goodstein, 1999, 103–105.)

Bibliography

Goodstein, M., 1999. Sports Science Projects: The Physics of Balls in Motion. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers.

Variations


Last edit date: 2006-12-26 13:42:28


Career Focus

science career image If you like this project, you might want to think about career opportunities in Sports Science.

Sports injuries can be painful and debilitating. Athletic trainers help athletes, and other physically active people, avoid such injuries, while also working to improve their strength and conditioning. Should a sports injury occur, athletic trainers help to evaluate the injury, determine the treatment needed, and design a fitness regime to rehabilitate the athlete so he or she is ready to go out and compete again. Learn more about this career: Athletic Trainer.




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