Speed Skating
Caitlin Mize & Jake Butts
The Science of Skating
About Speed Skating
Speed skaters are skating on a short track with small, sharp turns gaining speeds of up to 35-40 MPH. Physics of speed skating deals with Newton's 3 laws of motion
Newton's 1st Law of Motion
Newton's 1st Law is evident at the starting line. The law says that an object that is at rest statys at rest until another force is acted upon it. The skater then digs their blade into the ice pushing back against it to accelerated forward.
Newton's 2nd Law of Motion
Newton's 2nd Law of Motion says that force on an object produces acceleration (F=MA). The more mass the skater has the more force he will use to produce acceleration.
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion
Newton's 3rd Law of Motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the skater pushes on the ice, the ice will push back on the skater. The harder he pushes, the more rapidly he will accelerate.
Newton's 1st Law Continued
Newton's 1st Law of Motion also states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless another force is acted upon it. The skater will continue to move in a straight line until anothe3r force causes him to turn. Going around a turn the skater puts his hand on the ice pushing on the ice to cause himself to turn. His force acts against the ice's force.
Newton's 1st Law
The start position of the skater using Newton's 1st Law of Motion.
Newton's 2nd Law
Pushing off to gain acceleration using Newton's 2nd Law of Motion.
Newton's 3rd Law
Pushing against the ice using Newton's 3rd Law of Motion.