The Physics Behind Horse Jumping
In this project, our driving question to solve was, how can we improve our understanding of and performance in sports by applying physics? Our task was to choose a sport, then a simple action of that sport, and create a video showing the physics that is involved. We ended up choosing horse jumping, because it seemed original and we had all the necessities needed for this sport. We researched multiple horse jumping videos and other sports videos to get inspired. Our restrictions and expectations of our project consisted of a thorough explanation of the relationships among forces in at least 4 components of the sporting action, we had to included some major forces that influence motion, along with giving advice on how to better the action of the sport.
A lot of planning was involved in this project, such as writing out a script and storyboard to set the basics of our video. Planning is critical in any project because it leaves you to be more prepared and lowers the chances of setbacks throughout the process. Because we went into writing our script with no calculations, we decided to leave blanks and continue writing so we can fill in the calculations at a later time. Our decision payed off and we were one of the first groups to be done with our script. Our storyboard consisted of what each scene is going to look like and the sequence of each scene.
Our last section of our project, was the film making piece. We had around a 3-day filming time along with a few more days to tweak and edit. Lucky for us, one of our group members had an excellent video camera and editing program which made the filming and editing process a lot smoother.
A lot of planning was involved in this project, such as writing out a script and storyboard to set the basics of our video. Planning is critical in any project because it leaves you to be more prepared and lowers the chances of setbacks throughout the process. Because we went into writing our script with no calculations, we decided to leave blanks and continue writing so we can fill in the calculations at a later time. Our decision payed off and we were one of the first groups to be done with our script. Our storyboard consisted of what each scene is going to look like and the sequence of each scene.
Our last section of our project, was the film making piece. We had around a 3-day filming time along with a few more days to tweak and edit. Lucky for us, one of our group members had an excellent video camera and editing program which made the filming and editing process a lot smoother.
Content:
There are several physics concepts covered throughout our project that are listed as followed
1). Velocity- speed with a given direction. Because velocity is included with a direction, it differs from speed, so you can have both a negative and positive velocity. We incorporated velocity into our video by calculating the length of distance in which the horse is cantering, and dividing it by the time of how long it takes the horse to cover that distance, all before the horse makes the jump.
2). Projectile Motion- is a form of motion in which an object or particle is thrown, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity. This path is followed by a parabola, an open symmetrical plane shaped like an arch. Projectile motion consists of both horizontal and vertical velocities which we have tested to be independent components of the total velocity. To find the total velocity in projectile motion, you use Pythagorean Theorem (a2+b2=c2) and plug in your horizontal and vertical velocities for a and b. Projectile motion is relevant in our video by the horse leaping over the 3ft jump, forming a parabola.
3). Force- is a push or pull on an object. A common calculation to solve for force is mass times acceleration, but in our case we used the equation Force x time= mass x velocity (Ft=mv) because we had already solved for the remaining variables. In result, there was a very strong force applied to the horse's legs during the impact of landing. Just horse's front legs exerted a force of 35,000N (newtons).
4). Safeness- Safeness isn't necessarily a physics concept, but we mentioned it in our video because it plays a very important role in lowering the risk of injury in the action of horse jumping. Because horse's exert so much force on there legs, it can lead to injuries such as lameness (when the horse has leg issues or trouble walking) or joint problems. In theory, we thought of a plan to reduce these injuries by changing the arena footing to become more cushioned for the horse's landing. Since impulse equals force times time, a heavier padded arena will increase the time of landing thus lowering the amount of force on the horse's legs.
There are several physics concepts covered throughout our project that are listed as followed
1). Velocity- speed with a given direction. Because velocity is included with a direction, it differs from speed, so you can have both a negative and positive velocity. We incorporated velocity into our video by calculating the length of distance in which the horse is cantering, and dividing it by the time of how long it takes the horse to cover that distance, all before the horse makes the jump.
2). Projectile Motion- is a form of motion in which an object or particle is thrown, and moves along a curved path under the action of gravity. This path is followed by a parabola, an open symmetrical plane shaped like an arch. Projectile motion consists of both horizontal and vertical velocities which we have tested to be independent components of the total velocity. To find the total velocity in projectile motion, you use Pythagorean Theorem (a2+b2=c2) and plug in your horizontal and vertical velocities for a and b. Projectile motion is relevant in our video by the horse leaping over the 3ft jump, forming a parabola.
3). Force- is a push or pull on an object. A common calculation to solve for force is mass times acceleration, but in our case we used the equation Force x time= mass x velocity (Ft=mv) because we had already solved for the remaining variables. In result, there was a very strong force applied to the horse's legs during the impact of landing. Just horse's front legs exerted a force of 35,000N (newtons).
4). Safeness- Safeness isn't necessarily a physics concept, but we mentioned it in our video because it plays a very important role in lowering the risk of injury in the action of horse jumping. Because horse's exert so much force on there legs, it can lead to injuries such as lameness (when the horse has leg issues or trouble walking) or joint problems. In theory, we thought of a plan to reduce these injuries by changing the arena footing to become more cushioned for the horse's landing. Since impulse equals force times time, a heavier padded arena will increase the time of landing thus lowering the amount of force on the horse's legs.
Reflection:
I have gained and learned many new skills throughout this project and thoroughly enjoyed the process. Some things the I really enjoyed were shooting the video and collaborating clever improvements to better the video. Our group worked well together because we all had similar mindsets going into the project. We used all of our strengths to work together such as Rachel's video editing skills, my writing for the script and calculations, and Tim's creative ideas. Our group collaborated very well in the video taping piece because we had a great quality camera and we stayed focused to complete the video.
Throughout the project I've gained more knowledge about myself and new skills to work with in the future. One thing I learned about myself is that I am fairly strong in communication. It's important to make sure every member of the group is on the same page to prevent disagreements and setbacks. This project led me to becoming more comfortable with technology and learning new ways on how to you use it. There were also some personal challenges along the way, such as getting frustrated early in the process because we had to adjust our plans to fit the requirements. Our original plan was to get together over the weekend to go to the horse ranch and record, but because our group members we were too busy, we couldn't get it done then. So we ended up recording the video at school. Even though it wasn't exactly what we wanted, we still had to meet the requirements of completing the video on the deadline.
Of course there are always more things I need to work on, such as adaptability. Being able to adapt with occurring struggles is key with group projects because without this crucial skill, groups won't be able to recover from the problems that come up. We had to adapt by finding a time to record our video, and fixing a certain math calculation. We needed to edit the horizontal and vertical velocities from 1.35 m/s to 2.58 m/s. Although this setback was difficult to overcome, it only taught us that mistakes happen and that they won't always be easy to overcome.
Recap:
2 peaks- strong collaboration, active communication, and more knowledge in technology
2 setbacks- time schedule, adaptability, and wrong math calculation
I have gained and learned many new skills throughout this project and thoroughly enjoyed the process. Some things the I really enjoyed were shooting the video and collaborating clever improvements to better the video. Our group worked well together because we all had similar mindsets going into the project. We used all of our strengths to work together such as Rachel's video editing skills, my writing for the script and calculations, and Tim's creative ideas. Our group collaborated very well in the video taping piece because we had a great quality camera and we stayed focused to complete the video.
Throughout the project I've gained more knowledge about myself and new skills to work with in the future. One thing I learned about myself is that I am fairly strong in communication. It's important to make sure every member of the group is on the same page to prevent disagreements and setbacks. This project led me to becoming more comfortable with technology and learning new ways on how to you use it. There were also some personal challenges along the way, such as getting frustrated early in the process because we had to adjust our plans to fit the requirements. Our original plan was to get together over the weekend to go to the horse ranch and record, but because our group members we were too busy, we couldn't get it done then. So we ended up recording the video at school. Even though it wasn't exactly what we wanted, we still had to meet the requirements of completing the video on the deadline.
Of course there are always more things I need to work on, such as adaptability. Being able to adapt with occurring struggles is key with group projects because without this crucial skill, groups won't be able to recover from the problems that come up. We had to adapt by finding a time to record our video, and fixing a certain math calculation. We needed to edit the horizontal and vertical velocities from 1.35 m/s to 2.58 m/s. Although this setback was difficult to overcome, it only taught us that mistakes happen and that they won't always be easy to overcome.
Recap:
2 peaks- strong collaboration, active communication, and more knowledge in technology
2 setbacks- time schedule, adaptability, and wrong math calculation