The Mathematics In Sports

522 Words2 Pages

When researching the math behind sports, I found that there are a multitude of formulas that go behind the simple actions in sports such as basketball and baseball. Basketball is a game played between two teams of five players in which goals are scored by throwing a ball through a netted hoop fixed above each end of the court. Baseball is a ball game played between two teams of nine on a field with a diamond-shaped circuit of four bases. To be successful in these sports, one must make their baskets, and hit the ball a certain way.

The point of this exploration is to delve into the math behind these sports, and see what formulas occur during a game. I chose this topic, because I love sports and play them multiple times a month. After discovering that there is arithmetical aspects of these sports I was fascinated and wanted to explore them.

Basketball

Basketball can be looked at from a mathematic standpoint. To make a pass from one player to another one can use the following formula:

(Huffman, Katharine)



Shooting the ball into the hoop is a harder task, and a ...

Show More
Related

  • Math In Softball

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    Other than statistics math is constant being used with in every play. Reaction time is where it all starts, with the simple equation of Time = Distance / Velocity. I know hitting a baseball isn't the toughest thing in sports. But hitting a softball just might be. The reaction time to hit a softball is less than hitting a baseball. When counting in milliseconds, 20-20 vision isn't enough. For example Jennie Finch toured the country striking out Major League Baseball players such as Pujols and Piazza who have less reaction time against her 60 mph pitch from 43 feet (0.350 sec) than they do against a 95 mph baseball pitch from 60 feet 6 inches (0.395). Many don’t realize how much more mathematical softball is but now I can say it a lot more than just putting that jersey on and balling

    Read More

  • Physics of Baseball

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baseball is a fascinating sport that is exceptionally fun to play. This assignment is all about understanding the physics of a few key aspects of this sport. One might ask what physics could have to do with baseball? Like most sports baseball involves physical motion. Baseball encompasses all three planes of motion through throwing, hitting, and fielding. All of the classical laws of mechanics can be applied to understand the physics of this game.

    Read More

  • Softball Vs. Math: Softball Vs. Baseball

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sport of softball has been played since the 1800’s, when it was first invented by George Hancock. As the game developed through the years, it became evident to not only the players, but the spectators as well, that mathematics was a crucial aspect of the beloved sport. As a softball player for many years, one begins to see the connections between the two very clearly. When investigating the degree of importance math has on the sport of softball, one can see that mathematics plays an important role in every part of the game. Mathematics is used in statistics of the game, reaction time, batting average, and on base statistics. However, what most people, even players, do not realize about mathematics in softball, is that it also applies to something as simple as throwing the ball to its destination.

    Read More

  • Kinesiological Analysis Of Sport

    107 Words  | 1 Pages

    A course in the sociology of sport and physical activity should be part of an undergraduate curriculum in a kinesiology program because social issues that impact sports and athletes are often overlooked within kinesiology program despite playing an important role within sports. Kinesiology programs tend to focus on the impact of sport and importance of sport and physical activity and could use the insight that sociology of sport and physical activity can provide. The more we know about the social issues around sport and physical activity, and how to limit them, the more we can understand sport and how to improve it and the equality within it.

    Read More

  • Sabermetrics In Baseball

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baseball has always been a sport of numbers. Baseball has always had the most known and most prestigious records of all sports, Hank Aaron’s homerun record, Pete Rose’s hit record, and Nolan Ryan’s strikeout total just to name a few. However, there is a growing sector of executives and analysts that argue for the game to be looked at from a different point of view. They argue from the shift from “Who will hit us the most homeruns?” to “Who can produce the most runs for us?” Baseball is arguably the most interesting sport for mathematics, and it is definitely the most interesting sport for the particular field of statistics. From the traditional gravity problems with hit and thrown balls to other force and motion problems resulting from pitches, the sport has found a way into the textbooks of many middle and high school math courses. These same people who have grown up fans of the game and students in the classroom are now the ones lobbying for the shift of perspective by the managers and executives across the major leagues towards the use of sabermetrics in their player analysis.

    Read More

  • Baseball

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baseball is a unique sport in many different ways. It is the only major competitive sport that has no time limit. The success of a player is determined on how well he can play as an individual and how well the team plays along with him. There are many rules that determine the success of a player’s performance. A baseball game is played with two teams and each team is permitted 25 players per team; however this is only true for professional teams. There are three parts to baseball: offense, pitching, and defense.

    Read More

  • Basketball As A Discourse Community In High School Basketball

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    Basketball is defined as a game where two teams of five play each on a rectangular court, usually indoors (Basketball/Sport). Basketball was invented by James Naismith on December 1, 1891 (Basketball/Sport). The object of basketball is to shoot the basketball through the opposing team’s basket and to out-score them by end of the regulation time limit. If the score is tied at this time, the game will go into overtime until one team wins. While reading about basketball, I found it interesting that when the sport was invented they would nail baskets to balconies with no backboards. This made it easy for spectators (in the balcony) to help their team by either swatting the

    Read More

  • Using Technology in Sports

    1463 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ball comes speeding over the net and slams down onto the face of the court landing just beyond the base line, the line running along the back of the court. I had called her winning point... "out." As I turned towards her, I could see the anger building in her eyes. We walked towards each other, and with only the net separating us, she began to confront me. She argued that, as she saw it, the ball was obviously in and that we should replay the point. I wanted this game as much as she did and we were both standing strong. I finally decided that there was no use in fighting. We had to resolve this argument between ourselves because there were no line judges to decide for us. We decided to replay the point and she won. I tried to convince myself that there would be times when a call would be questionable and that I should try not to point fingers. I still went home discouraged that night because I knew that the call I had made was fair.

    Read More

  • The Physical Fitness Of Basketball

    1831 Words  | 4 Pages

    Basketball is a "transition game. Players continuously switch between defensive and offensive plays throughout the game. The plays include strenuous physical, such as running/sprinting, cutting, feints, jumps, and landings. Rapid turns and proximity during one-on-one situations increase the possibility of physical contact. Thus, frequent intermittent running and sprinting characterize the action of the game. Motion analysis has shown that depending on individual playing-time; basketball players cover a distance between 4.6 and 5.8 km per game, with mean heart rates between 80 and 90% of individual maximum heart rates (European Network for Sports injuries prevention, 2008). Consequently, players need to rid of highly advanced basic...

    Read More

  • The History Of Basketball

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sport basketball was created in 1981 and has grown to be one of the most popular sports to be played worldwide. To think that this life altering activity was thought of by only one man, Dr. James Naismith, a Physical Instructor at the YMCA Training school. Which was in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith was under the instructions of the head physical education board when he had the brilliant idea. He was given an enduring two weeks to come up with an indoor game that would give an “athletic distraction” for a jumpy class to participate in through the harsh winter approaching them. All he had was his own mind and a small indoor space to some how create a new game to be played. Naismith succeeded and his creation is now a big time sport played by millions all around the world.

    Read More

  • Math Is An Influential Part Of Baseball Essay

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    The type of data that will be collected throughout this paper will be from Major League baseball from over the past years. There are various types of data for each part of the game, such as hitting and pitching statistics. Applied to that data will be the mathematical formulas and calculations that will help get us the end statistics that are so important to the game and they will show overall how math is an influential part of the game.

    Read More

  • Essay On Baseball Is The Easiest Sport

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everybody values and views sports in different ways. Most athletes believe that the sport they excel in is the easiest and the best to play. Most baseball players believe that baseball is not the easiest sport to play, even if they excel in baseball. Baseball has a 282 page rule book, but other sports like football only have 82 pages of rules to follow. Baseball is unique because it is the only sport where the defense controls the ball, and where doing good on offense thirty percent of the time is considered good.

    Read More

  • The Game Theory of Baseball

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    Baseball is a great game to analyze from game theory perspective because of the scale of strategic decisions that are continuously made on the fields and each play. In every play, there are various players (baseball players, coaches, team managers and owners) with different goals and payoffs, and thousands of pitch-by-pitch decisions are made in course of an at-bat, inning, game, and season.

    Read More

  • How It Works: Projectile Motion in Basketball

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passing is perhaps one of the most important components of the sport. A game would be impossible without the assistance of passing and team work. To successfully carryout a pass, many factors have to be taken into account. In order to begin a pass, first a player must exert a force on the basketball. Once the ball leaves the hands of the player, it becomes a projectile. A projectile is acted upon by two independent forces: the x and y components. The x component is the force exerted on the ball by the player while the y component is pulled by the force of gravity, -9.8m/s². As a result of the independent components, the ball will travel in a downward parabolic path, or trajectory. Since the ball travels a downward path, the player throws the ball towards a target located a little higher than where the player wishes the ball would go in order to compensate for the downward path. Another factor that affects the successfulnes...

    Read More

  • Uniforms In Basketball: The Different Types Of Basketball

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    People in both ancient and modern societies have enjoyed playing sports in the spare time. The different shapes of athletic equipment, uniforms, and balls such as basketball, baseball, football, and soccer ball are designed differently to serve the purpose of their sports Also, each sport has been developed in various ways.

    Read More

More about The Mathematics In Sports

Open Document