Learning STEM From Basketball: Why Does a Basketball Bounce? And Other Amazing Answers for Kids!
Introduction Swish City parks country schoolyards college gymnasiums neighborhood neighborhood driveways it’s hard to travel very far without seeing a basketball hoop People everywhere shoot hoops for fun for exercise with a team or to spend time with friends Basketball is the only major sport that was invented completely in the United States of America 1 James Naismith was a physical education teacher at the Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA Training School now Springfield College in Massachusetts In December 1891 Naismith was in charge of a class of 18 restless students who enjoyed outdoor sports such as football and lacrosse Naismith’s job was to come up with an indoor game that would keep the students busy and entertained during the winter months When he nailed two peach baskets to opposite ends of the gym balcony divided his students into two teams and gave them a soccer ball the game of basketball was born 2 A lively game of basketball is science technology engineering engineering and math STEM in action STEM concepts can be found in the physics behind the bouncing of the ball the workings of the electronic scoreboard the engineering of a better sneaker and the math behind a shot clock ix
Chapter One The Spectacular Science of the Sport Why does a basketball bounce Imagine trying to dribble a basketball that hasn’t been inflated Not much bounce right Basketballs bounce because they are filled with pressurized air and made with elastic materials Air is made up of constantly moving molecules Although we can’t see them they are busy vibrating bumping into each other and everything around them Air pressure is the weight 11
