Biomechanical Movement

Question 1

What is a Scalar quantity?

Answer 1

When measurements are only described in terms of size or magnitude: mass, distance and speed

Question 2

What is a Vector quantity?

Answer 2

When measurements are described in both magnitude and direction - weight, acceleration, displacement, velocity and momentum

Question 3

What is Mass?

Answer 3

• A physical quantity expressing the amount of matter or substance in a body
• Our mass is made up of bones, muscle, fat, tissue and fluid
• Measured in Kg

Question 4

What is weight?

Answer 4

• A unit of force
• the force on a given mass due to gravity
• It is measured in Newtons
• Acts downwards from the centre of Mass

Question 5

What is distance vs displacement?

Answer 5

• Distance is the length of a path a body follows when moving from one position to another
• Displacement is the length of the straight line joining the start and finish points
• Both measured in metres

Question 6

What is Speed?

Answer 6

• How fast a body moves
• It is the rate of change of distance
  Speeds/s = displacement covered/time taken
• How fast a body travels in a certain direction
• Rate of change of displacement
  Velocity: displacement (m)/time taken

Question 7

What does a horizontal straight line show in a distance - time and velocity - time graph?

Answer 7

The line does not go up or down so there is no distance travelled.
This means the performer must be stationary.
- This could be a netball player taking a shot or
- Goalkeeper in football before a penalty is taken

The gradient remains constant which indicated the performer travelling at a constant velocity

Question 8

What does a diagonal straight line show in a distance -time graph?

Answer 8

The line goes up in constant diagonal direction
This indicated the distance run is changing at a constant rate and at the same speed
- middle of a long distance run

Question 9

What does an upwards curve show in a distance-time and velocity time- graph?

Answer 9

• The curve is curved and gradually getting steeper
• This indicated that more distance is being covered in a certain about of time
• Performer must be accelerating
  - The first 20m at the start of a 100m race

The gradient gets steeper
Indicated the performer moving with increasing velocity or accelerating

Question 10

What does a curve going down on a distance- time graph show?

Answer 10

• the curve starts to level off and less distance travelled in the certain amount of time
• deceleration is occurring
• this could happen once the performer has crossed the finishing line

Question 11

How can I determine the gradient?

Answer 11

Change in the y axis/ Change in the x axis