Nikolas McNamara

5/2/2014
6
th
Hour Physics
Sports on the Moon

The people of the moon have begun to develop health problems. I have
found a way for them to exercise to keep their muscles active and it could also be
used to make money. We could introduce sports that the people on the moon could
play and this would give them a way to exercise. We would also be introducing a
consumer industry that could increase cash revenue. If you agree to this idea, I am
willing to give you 10% of the gross income from it. I have a set of rules that
would make the sport playable and fun to watch below.
We could use an already known sport such as football to be played because
football is one of the largest sports industries on earth. Most of the rules would be
the same, but some of the rules would have to be different to accommodate for the
physics on moon. My plan is to increase the mass of the ball, fixing the problem of
it being thrown too far. For example, Peyton Manning can throw a football 69
yards on earth. This means he would throw the football 414 yards on the moon.
This is because of the decreased acceleration due to gravity on the moon. When a
football field is only 100 yards, this is going to cause problems with how to play. If
I increase the mass of a normal football six fold then he will only be able to make
it accelerate at 1/6
th
the rate. The equation F=MxA shows this. The only problem
with that is that even though you can throw the more massive ball the same
distance it is harder to throw than a normal ball on earth. This is because of the
mass being increased and the need of more force to make the same acceleration.
The ball will also have a lower speed if it is more massive if you use the
same force even though it is traveling just as far. This can cause it to be harder to
complete a pass because the defenders will be able to have more time to get to the
reciever. This is because the acceleration due to gravity being 1/6 of what it is on
earth so the ball will stay in the air for a longer time. People can jump much higher

on the moon also because of the equation Distance=(1/2)Gravity times time
squared. They can jump six times as high, but it isnt just six times their vertical, it
is six times the distance from their ready position(a squat) to their peak
position(their vertical). Calvin Johnsons vertical is 43 inches(3.6 feet). That means
that he would be able to jump around 258 inches(21.5 feet), but not exactly
because that is only his vertical times six. It would make blocking a pass really
easy or catching it really easy depending on the situation. The players could wear
packs that are used to increase their mass so they wont jump as high. Basically,
the plan would be to make the packs 5/6 of their mass so their weight would be the
same on the moon as their normal weight on earth. This will make them jump their
normal height because of the same F=MxA equation as how far the football will
go.
For a punt or a kick-off the ball could be made out of a material that would
bounce 1/6 of the height as a normal football because an object that bounces 1/6 of
the height of another object will have 1/6 of the range as the other object. The
equations (1/2mv^2=mgh) and (R=(v^2)/g) show why this happens. Although, the
ball is already going to have increased mass so there is no reason to change the
material. Friction on the moon is 1/6 of the friction on earth. This means that the
players would slide six times as far after a tackle. Players generally slide 4 or 5
yards after a tackle. That means on the moon the players would slide 24 to 30
yards. That is really dangerous as they could slide off the field or into other players
farther away. This is because an object weighs 1/6 on the moon so the normal force
is going to be 1/6 on the moon. The equation (Mu x Normal Force= Force of
friction) shows why this happens. Since the players have increased mass packs
their weight will be the same so this also has no effect. The leg of a player during
the game acts like a pendulum and pendulums swing slower on the moon. This is
because of the decreased acceleration due to gravity. The equation (2pi) x the
square root of (L/g) shows this. This means the players will take longer to swing
their leg and therefore be slower. Usain Bolts leg for example would take 2.171
sec. to swing as a pendulum on earth and 5.213 sec. on the moon. Therefore if
Usain bolt runs 100 meters in 9.63 sec. it would take him 23.121 sec. to run 100
meters on the moon. There is no way to fix this other than to alter the acceleration
due to gravity which is impossible. The players will just have to be a little slower
than what they would be on Earth. The effects of air resistance on the moon would

appear to be six times larger than on earth, but because the objects weigh 1/6 of
what they would on earth the objects take only 1/6 of the air resistance to stop.
Theyre terminal velocity would also be lower because since they weigh less.
Terminal Speed is reached when (Weight force of air resistance = 0). Since the
balls have increased mass though the air resistance will have no effect.
Basically, this will make the game and how it plays very similar to how it is
on earth so people will still want to watch it. The football would be six times as
massive so it doesnt fly as far and so air resistance doesnt act largely on it. The
ball wont be made out of a different material so it bounces 1/6 the height to try
and decrease the range. The players would have to wear packs to increase their
mass so they dont jump as high or slide super far. The players will have to run a
little bit slower. I believe this will make at least equal to half if not more money
than the NFL does on earth.