Exploring the Physics of Football: Force Calculation

Ever wondered how much force a football exerts on a kicker's foot?

With a given initial speed of 12.4 m/s, a football with a mass of 0.6 kg, and a time of contact of 0.035 s, what is the force exerted by the ball on the kicker's foot?

Calculating the Force Exerted by a Football on the Kicker's Foot

To find the force exerted by the ball on the kicker's foot, we can use Newton's second law of motion. This law states that force (F) is equal to the mass (m) of an object multiplied by its acceleration (a).

Given: Initial speed (v0): 0 m/s (football initially at rest) Final speed (v f): 12.4 m/s Mass (m): 0.6 kg Time of contact (t): 0.035 s

Step 1: Calculate the acceleration (a) of the football.

Acceleration (a) = (Final speed - Initial speed) / Time of contact

a = (12.4 m/s - 0 m/s) / 0.035 s

a = 354.29 m/s²

Step 2: Use Newton's second law of motion to calculate the force (F) exerted by the ball on the kicker's foot.

F = m * a

F = 0.6 kg * 354.29 m/s²

Step 3: Calculate the value of the force (F).

F = 0.6 kg * 354.29 m/s²

F ≈ 212.57 N

Therefore, the force exerted by the ball on the kicker's foot is approximately 212.57 N.

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