Physical Science in Football

Physical Science in Football is part of Crabtree’s “Science Gets Physical” series. The series title says it all. Author Enzo George effectively shows how physical science applies to football. If Physical Science in Football only mentioned Canadian football, it would be a winner. Unfortunately, it is only a contender.

The physics tie-ins in this book include “Running and Throwing”, “Flight of the Ball”, “Kinematics”, “Running and Tackling”, and several other aspects of football.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion says that the force on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. When the quarterback throws the ball, it accelerates from a still position, then travels through the air. If the football is heavier, the quarterback has to throw it with more force to get the same acceleration.

The main body of text is mostly black on white. Two types of coloured text boxes highlight “Science Wins!” and “Getting Physical”. “Science Wins!” highlight stars of the game and how science works to enhance their game. “Getting Physical” explains the physics behind different aspects of the game.

Science Wins!
Miracle at Michigan
In 1994, the Colorado Buffaloes were trailing the Michigan Wolverines 26-21. They had six seconds left. From near the 30-yard (27m) line, Colorado quarterback Kordell Stewart threw a Hail Mary pass 70 yards (64m) into the Michigan end zone. It was caught for a touchdown. That required Stewart to apply a lot of force to the ball, which is measured as work. In physics, work is done when a force is applied to an object over a distance. Stewart’s effort was huge, but it was worth it. Colorado won the game 27-26. His pass is known as the “Miracle at Michigan.

Each book in the “Science Gets Physical” series ends with an activity section titled “Get Physical!” In Physical Science in Football, readers investigate “how a football bounces and why it is so difficult to recover a fumble”. This activity includes a list of materials you will need, instructions, an analysis consisting of two questions, and a conclusion. For the sake of encouraging students to attempt to answer the “Why might it bounce to different heights each time?” question, it would have been advantageous to have the “Conclusion” explanation on a different page. The physical layout of the explanation directly below the question leaves no space for using the information in the book to reach an independent answer to the question.

Overall, Physical Science in Football is a good book about physics in sports, but it has a significant flaw for Canadian bookshelves. There is no mention of the Canadian Football League (CFL), Canadian players, or the fact that the Canadian game is played on a different size field with different rules.