"The acceleration of an object as produced by a net force is directly proportional to the magnitude of the net force, in the same direction as the net force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object." - The Physics Classroom
This law states that the acceleration of any object will be determined by the magnitude and direction of the sum of the forces. In short, this means that an object is going to travel the direction the net force is applying. In the case of shooting a ball in soccer, this must be taken into consideration in order to have a better chance of scoring against your component. A smart soccer player will determine a place in the net to shoot and then direct his or her body according to make the ball end up there. A player can also control the height of the shot by positioning their shot in one of two ways:
1) Leaning over the ball - By leaning over the ball you are forcing the ball to stay low because of the
way the force is being applied. Leaning over the ball directs it downward due to the direction of
the force of the player's kick.
2) Leaning back - Leaning back while taking a shot forces the ball upward because of your body
positioning. The force being applied is upward. Therefore, the direction of the shot will also
be upward. Often times, leaning back allows for a ball to travel further because the Force of
Friction is being eliminated.
These two concepts used while taking a shot clearly demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion. This is because the direction of a shot is being decided by the direction of the force that the player is applying.
1) Leaning over the ball - By leaning over the ball you are forcing the ball to stay low because of the
way the force is being applied. Leaning over the ball directs it downward due to the direction of
the force of the player's kick.
2) Leaning back - Leaning back while taking a shot forces the ball upward because of your body
positioning. The force being applied is upward. Therefore, the direction of the shot will also
be upward. Often times, leaning back allows for a ball to travel further because the Force of
Friction is being eliminated.
These two concepts used while taking a shot clearly demonstrate Newton's Second Law of Motion. This is because the direction of a shot is being decided by the direction of the force that the player is applying.
The diagram above depicts a player who is leaning over the ball while taking a shot. His body is forcing the ball to travel downward.
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The video above is an example of why NOT to lean back while taking a Penalty Shot!!! Neymar, in my opinion one of the world's greatest soccer players makes the unfortunate mistake of leaning back. As the video shows, the shot is projected high over the net because he leaned back, forcing the ball upward, while taking the shot.
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Force Diagram
The image to the left represents a force diagram of Newton's Second Law of Motion for a soccer ball after being shot. Consider this shot to be similar to Neymar's in the video above so that it is traveling in the air, independent of friction. In this case, the only force that is acting upon the ball is the Force of Earth. For this reason, the net force is equal to the Force of Earth. This means, that the ball will be accelerating in that direction (the negative Y direction).
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