Professor: Stanley Micklavzina

4.00 credits

CRN 12297: Monday & Wednesday, 4:00-5:20pm @ PSC B040

Sports do not require detailed knowledge of physics - athletes are able to make rapid judgements and accurate predictions about complex physical systems without the use of equations or computational analysis. Likewise, physics does not require athleticism nor even an appreciation of sports. Yet studying sports through the lens of physics provides a way to gain deeper insight into both. Both physics and sports are ultimately experimental human endeavors, often requiring multiple iterations of trial-and-error to arrive at a desired outcome. In this class, participants will learn fundamental physics concepts such as momentum, forces, kinematics, and energy and apply them to understand motion in various sports of their choosing, such as baseball (instructor’s favorite), track-and-field, football, soccer, ballet to name a few. Through presentations, discussions, demonstrations, and analysis, it is expected that participants will gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for both physics and sports.