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Free Kick Physics in Football Analysis

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
13 views3 pages

Free Kick Physics in Football Analysis

Uploaded by

cronopia123
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Modelling activity: Taking a free kick in football

A free kick is often taken from a short distance outside the penalty area. There can be a sense of
expectation that a goal will be scored, but how difficult is it for a player to do this?

Assumptions

 The ball is a particle and moves only under the influence of its weight.
 The ball initially moves at 30 ms-1.
 The free kick is taken at a distance of 40 metres from the goal line.
 The height of the goal is 2.4 metres.
 There is wall of defenders between the initial position of the ball and the goal. The height of the wall is
2 metres and it is 9 metres from the initial position of the ball.
 The initial velocity of the football is at an angle α above the horizontal.

Scoring a Goal

When the ball reaches the goal line it must be above ground level but below the height of the bar across
the top of the goal.

Considering ground level:

40  30 cos t and 30 sin t  4.9t 2  0

From the first of these:

4
t
3 cos 

Substituting this into the vertical equation gives:

40sin  16
 4.9  0
cos  9 cos 2 
360 tan   78.4(1  tan 2  )  0
78.4 tan 2   360 tan   78.4  0

Solving this quadratic inequality gives the values below for tan α and α.

0.2292  tan   4.36326


12.9    77.1

Teaching Mechanics © MEI 2018


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Considering that the ball must pass under the bar:

40  30 cos t and 30 sin t  4.9t 2  2.4

From the first of these:

4
t
3 cos 

Substituting this into the vertical equation gives:

40sin  16
 4.9   2.4
cos  9 cos 2 
360 tan   78.4(1  tan 2  )  21.6
78.4 tan 2   360 tan   100  0

Solving this quadratic equation gives the values below for tan α and α.

tan   0.2970 or tan   4.2949


  16.5 or   76.9
Considering that the ball must pass over the wall:

9  30 cos t and 30 sin t  4.9t 2  2

From the first of these:

3
t
10 cos 

Substituting this into the vertical equation gives:

90sin  9
 4.9  2
10 cos  100 cos 2 
44.1
9 tan   (1  tan 2  )  2
100
44.1tan   900 tan   244.1  0
2

Solving this quadratic inequality gives the values below for tan α and α.

0.2749  tan   20.133


15.3    87.2

Conclusion

To score a goal the angle must satisfy the three inequalities below.

12.9    77.1

  16.5 or   76.9

15.3    87.2 Hence: 15.3    16.5

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Interpretation

This is a very small range and explains why free kicks are often not scored in real football matches.

In reality, players will use techniques that cause the ball to swerve and spin, which help them to score in
this situation. These factors should be taken into account in more sophisticated models, but these would
require techniques beyond the scope of A level mathematics!

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Common questions

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Scoring a goal is challenging due to the small margin for error in the angle of the initial kick. The angle α must satisfy the inequality constraints for clearing the wall and the goal's limitations, leaving only a small range between 16.5° and 15.3° for a successful shot . This narrow angular range, alongside the absence of factors like ball swerve or spin in the model, justifies the difficulty .

The quadratic inequality helps establish the ranges of tangent values for angle α, which specify possible angles for successful motion over obstacles while accommodating conditions like maximum attainable height within the goal's framework. Solving involves understanding trajectories determined by launch speed and angle, such as ensuring the ball reaches a certain height at set points (over a wall, under a bar), thus necessitating the quadratic examination to capture these parabolic paths accurately .

Assumptions made include the football being treated as a particle that moves only under the influence of its weight. The ball is initially moving at 30 m/s, taken from a distance of 40 meters from the goal line, the height of the goal is 2.4 meters, and there is a wall of defenders 2 meters high located 9 meters from the ball's initial position. The initial velocity is at an angle α above the horizontal .

In a real free kick situation, the spin or swerve of a ball can significantly affect its trajectory, allowing players to bypass walls more effectively or dip the ball under the crossbar after clearing the wall. These aerodynamic properties are not captured by the simple parabolic trajectory assumed in the model, which only considers the ball as a particle under uniform gravitational force . The real-world applications involve more complex fluid dynamics that can be advantageous in overcoming the model's identified angular limitations.

The initial velocity of 30 m/s is pivotal because it determines the kinetic energy and potential maximal height the ball can achieve during its trajectory. It sets a boundary for predicting the range of motion and height clearance options for the ball at the specified angle α, directly influencing whether the ball can clear the wall and fit under the goal bar based on the model’s parabolic assumptions .

The simple model portrays the ball as a particle moving only under gravitational force in a fixed plane, primarily using quadratic kinematic equations. However, it doesn't account for complex real-world physics like air resistance, ball spin, or swerve, which significantly influence a kick's trajectory. The model's limitation lies in its static representation of angle and velocity, failing to accommodate dynamically changing conditions players exploit in reality through techniques like 'bend' shots or manipulating ball aerodynamics for precision .

Allowing angle α to vary in-flight would introduce a new dimension of complexity involving projectile motion with varying forces, akin to dynamic aerodynamic modeling. The motion would need to account for changing forces, possibly relying on non-linear differential equations to model dynamic swerving or drifting. This would provide a closer approximation to real-world dynamics, wherein players manipulate ball spinning, altering its path through changing pressure fields or lift forces in-flight, a concept beyond basic mechanics assumptions .

The conclusion highlights that a very small angular range for successful goals necessitates high precision in execution. The demanded proficiency in aligning initial launch conditions means even minimal deviations in angle or velocity lead to markedly different outcomes. It reinforces the necessity of skill and consistency in player technique, where repeated practice is vital to align with the precise demands set by such narrow margins .

When considering the ball passing over the wall, the inequalities for tan α stipulate a range of 0.2749 ≤ tan α ≤ 20.133, corresponding to angles between 15.3° and 87.2° . For passing under the bar, tan α must satisfy the condition tan α ≤ 0.2970 or tan α ≥ 4.2949, relating to angles of at least 16.5° and at most 76.9° . Thus, the passing over the wall has a larger permissible range compared to ensuring the ball stays under the bar.

To successfully score a goal accounting for the model’s constraints, the angle α must lie within overlapping ranges that satisfy each condition: it must be between 15.3° and 76.9°, considering the different requirements like clearing the wall (ranging at least 15.3° to 87.2°), passing beneath the bar (at most 76.9°), ensuring the trajectory reaches above ground (at least 12.9°). This results in the dense and challenging angle range of 16.5° to 15.3° for a goal .

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