Newton's 1st Law Newton’s 1st Law is known as ‘The Law of Inertia.’ This law states that, “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. And an object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.” (TeacherTech). What this simply means is that every object in motion tends to stay in motion, and every object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. The game of Tennis is actually played with your feet much more than it is with a racket, and so your feet must always be in motion. (As shown in Video) If your feet are properly placed, meaning your standing on your toes instead of your heels, and your knees must be bent so you can easily hit the ball with power. (As shown in Figure 1) According to Dr. Jack Groppel, (leader in biomechanics and sport science), “If your heels are flat on the court, the force between your shoes and court is equal to your body weight.” (TimelessTennis) What this means is, Let’s say you weigh 150 pounds, then it’s as if you have a weight of 150 pounds on your head that must be moved off before you attempt hit the ball. Also a tennis ball will always stay in motion when hit on a serve, volley, groundstroke or on a return, unless it is hit by the other player, or hits the ground when it goes out. That was just a few examples of how Newton’s 1st Law applies to Tennis. Now let’s view how the 2nd Law also ties into Tennis.
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 Figure 1 |
