Biomechanic

s
Introduction

Planes of
motion
&
Axes of
rotation

LEVERS
The

function of a lever in the body is either:

To

overcome a force greater than the effort used eg a

crowbar / a calf raise
To move something a greater distance eg an overarm
throw

lever consists of:

A fulcrum or pivot point a joint
Load could be gravity, body weight,
added weight e.g. gym equipment
Effort provided by muscular
contractions

THE LEVERS IN THE BODY ARE THE

BONES OF THE SKELETON
LEVERS CAN BE ADDED IN THE FORM OF
SPORTING IMPLEMENTS
RACKETS
CLUBS
BATS

Sporting levers
Golf clubs are selected according to
length a longer club will produce a longer
lever and will send the ball further
A defender in hockey will use a heavier
stick
An overarm serves in tennis makes the
most use of the power by making the lever
as long as possible
A cricketer hitting for 6 will play the shot
to make the most of a long lever produced
by his body, arms and the bat.

LEVERS

REMEMBER- FLE
The part of the lever
that is located in the
middle

First Order Lever

The

fulcrum is in the middle

The load is at one end and the
effort applied at the other
Example

in the body =
Joint at the neck

Second Order Lever

The

Load is in the middle

The fulcrum is at one end, the
effort applied at the other
Example

in the body =
The ankle joint

Third Order Lever

The

effort is in the middle

The load is at one end, the fulcrum at the
other
Example

in the body =
most of our skeletal
muscles

FORCES

Before looking at sport & movement, we must understand

FORCE

A force is a push or pull that alters or tends to alter the state of

motion of a body

A Force can cause a body at rest to move (taking a football

penalty- the force applied with the foot make the ball move)

A force can cause a moving body to:

Change direction (returning a tennis shot)

Accelerate (a sprint finish)

Decelerate slowing down at the bottom of the ski slope)

Change an objects shape (jumping on a trampoline)

 If

a force is applied through the middle of an

object it causes LINEAR MOTION

If

a force is applied off-centre it will cause spin

or ANGULAR MOTION

Many sporting examples are a

combination of both angular and linear
motion:
The upper body shows
LINEAR MOTION
Whilst the legs show
ANGULAR MOTION

This combination is called GENERAL MOTION

Internal forces are generally produced by

concentric muscle contraction
External forces could be:
Gravity
Air resistance (water resistance)
Friction
Reaction

NEWTONS LAWS OF MOTION

NEWTONS FIRST LAW
A body continues in a state of rest or of
uniform velocity unless acted upon by an
external force Law of inertia

NEWTONS SECOND LAW

When a force acts on an object, the rate of change
of momentum experienced by the object is
proportional to the size of the force and takes
place in the direction in which the force acts
Law of acceleration

NEWTONS THIRD LAW

For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction - reaction

Use Newtons Laws of motion to explain

what is happening in the following
situations:
1.While the puck is stationary before
being hit

Consider:

2.While the stick is in contact with the

An ice hockey
puck is hit by a player & travels across the
puck

ice to rebound from the far wall of the rink.

3.While the puck is travelling across the

before
hits&the
Assume that the frictionice
between
theitpuck
thewall
ice & the air
resistance are negligible, & that the puck travels from R to L

4.While the puck is in contact with the

wall

TASK:
Write a short piece to apply what you know from
todays lesson to your selected sport
Can you explain how forces are functioning to:
Cause something to move
Change direction
Accelerate
Decelerate
Change the shape of an object

Selected sport: trampolining

Forces acting - pull of gravity makes the performer
return to the trampoline force of the performers
muscles changes the shape of the trampoline bed
the force of the trampoline against the performer
will cause them to change direction
Application of Newtons Laws - External force of
performers muscles causes movement (1st Law of
acceleration) The greater the distortion of the bed,
the greater the force acting to push the performer
upward they will therefore go higher (2nd Law of
acceleration) The action of landing on the bed
causes the reaction of sending the performer upward
(3rd Law of reaction)

Centre of Gravity / Centre of Mass

The point at which the

body is balanced in all
directions

Centre of Gravity & stability

The

lower the centre of gravity is the more

stable the position

Base of support
The

larger the base of support the more stable

the position

Line of Gravity
An

imaginary line straight down from the

centre of gravity / mass
If the line of gravity is at the centre
of the base of support the position is
more stable
If the line of gravity is near the edge
of the base of support the position is
less stable
If the line of gravity is outside the
base of support the position is
unstable

To work out the centre of gravity of a 2D shape Hang

the shape from one point & drop a weighted

string from any point on the object
Mark the line where the string drops
Repeat this by hanging the object from another
point
Mark the line again where the string drops
The centre of gravity is where the two lines cross

Jessica Ennis London 2012