9781422274811

INTRODUCTION

Macaroni and cheese. Texting and emojis. STEM and sports. What? STEM . . . and sports? Yes! These are things that naturally fit together. When people talk about STEM classes and sports, they are usually viewed as opposite things, right? You’re either sitting in class learning science and math, or you’re out on the field participating in sports. But STEM and sports do go together. STEM is education in four specific areas—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM curriculum is integrated for real-world learning. Think of a class taking a field trip to an amusement park. Students learn the principles of physics. For example, Newton’s laws of physics apply to soccer. > Newton’s First Law: An object at rest stays at rest. To move, an external force must act on it. A soccer ball resting on the penalty spot will stay there until the shooter kicks it. This defines the law of inertia. > Newton’s Second Law of Motion defines the F=ma equation. This law says that the force of an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. The harder the quarterback throws the ball, the more force it has. > Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, after the touchdown, the harder you spike the ball into the ground, the higher up into the air it will go. There’s lots of science in soccer. Let’s take a look at the STEM concepts behind some of soccer’s greatest plays. We’ll explore all the concepts like force, inertia, and acceleration, which are important to the game of soccer.

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