Gateway to Science: Sports and Games Episode 2

GATEWAY TO SCIENCE:  SPORTS AND GAMES             March 5, 2014       Quincy Access TV

As promised, here is what the show covered:
A)  A review of the difference between linear, or straight-line, momentum.  
Demonstrated this (1) by rolling a ball, which follows its natural tendency, a straight line,  generating linear momentum,
and (2) by giving it a turn and making it spin in a circle, and because it goes constantly at 360 degree angles, generating angular momentum. 

TODAY'S VIDEO    Science of NHL Hockey:  Hockey Geometry  Includes circles and angles, too, but more.  It includes squares and many other shapes.  Its the geometry of hockey.  The video introduces all the shapes associated with a hockey rink.  Clearly explains angles and their relationship to a circle.         I used two pencils to illustrate this.  We saw that a hockey stick lies at an obtuse angle of 135 degrees (called the "lie" of the stick) and, in fact, a stick just happened to be lying around and was shown to the audience.    ; )

Different types of angles pertinent to hockey:   Angle of access (AKA angle of attack) to the net needs to be restricted by the defenders to keep the attackers from getting the puck into the net.  Another angle:  When the puck hits the board, the angle is called the angle of incidence.  The puck ricochets, or rebounds, off the board at the same angle, called the angle of reflection.  (This has applications, too, in basketball and in the physics of light.)

After the video we resumed what we started in the first show, reading a story I'd written for children, The Sled:  A Matter of Some Gravity.  Erin Corbett, a special needs teacher, was kind enough to come on the show (her first time on TV!) and read the book with me, taking turns as we went through it.  Erin did beautifully, and I really enjoyed doing it with her.  Reminder:  the story--which talks about give and take between energy and gravity in climbing and going down a hill--is elsewhere on this blog, so you can read it, too.  Who knows, some day maybe I'll be able to get it published and tell you where you can buy or borrow it!!

How can you get involved?  I issued an invitation to people to try writing similar stories:  Stories with a science lesson worked into the dialogue.  Try it, it's fun!  And send them in to me, please!

Announcements:  1)  Mad Science at the Quincy Library on Saturday morning, March 15 on Acids and Bases.  2)  Ongoing activity is at the Boston Museum of Science called Science in the Park.  An indoor playground, it displays signs at all of the stations (swings, seesaw, and others) that explain the physics of the activity.  If you don't have a membership, get passes at the library, and you can book up to 2 weeks ahead.

By the way, did you see the Sport Science Newton Awards on ESPN last month?  A brand new awards show, it features outstanding athletic events and uses a video demonstration to explain the physics behind it.  I missed it, but Frank saw half of it, and I look forward to finding it again, on ESPN or ESPN2. 

Remember.  Sports and games are the gateway to science -- and YOU hold the key!!

                                                                        INFO
VIDEO
Science of NHL Hockey:  Hockey Geometry  NBCLearn.com or science360.gov

MY BLOG
sportscience-kathy.blogspot.com