FIFA Game Investigation

Tejas Gokhale

Research Questions

Can a human generate as much force as necessary to shoot a ball in FIFA with max power?

What would happen if a human is hit with a ball with maximum power?

What is the total change in kinetic energy from the collision?

Givens

• Maximum amount of force a human leg muscle can generate – 800 newtons
• Average time a soccer player is in contact with the ball when shooting a free kick is about 10 ms – 0.01 seconds
• The mass of the ball used in the FIFA game is 440 g – 0.44 kilograms

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Calculations

• Initial velocity of the ball is 0 meters per second
• Maximum speed of the ball is 114 km/hr or 31.67 m/s – as shown in the picture

Calculations (Cont.)

• Angle of the ball kicked
• Bellingham’s height is approximately 1.83 meters
• The distance between the wall and the ball is 9.1 meters
• tan^-1(1.83/9.1) = 11.37 degrees

Impulse

• Ft = m𝚫v
• Y-component
• Fy(0.01) = (0.44)(31.67 * sin(11.37))
• Fy = 274.72 newtons
• X-component
• Fx(0.01) = (0.44)(31.67 * cos(11.37))
• F_x = 1366.13 newtons
• Using the Pythagorean theorem, F_tot = (274.72)2+(1366.13)2 = 1393.48 newtons.

Is this feasible?

• No, this is NOT feasible.
• As mentioned before, the maximum force a human leg muscle can generate is 800 newtons.
• The force necessary to kick this ball with such velocity is about 1393 newtons.
• 1393.48 > 800

If hit by the ball…

• “Takes about 4,000 newtons of force to break the typical human femur.”
• Bone bruise might occur, in which fluid and blood build up in and around the bone.
• Because 1393.48 newtons is much lesser than 4000 newtons, the femur will not break.
• Other parts of the body, like neck bones, will likely break because of this force.

Calculating 𝚫KE_tot

• Initial kinetic energy of the ball is 0 J
• Initial kinetic energy of Carlos is mv²/2 = 0.5(72)(1.63)² = 95.65 J
• Use a stopwatch to measure the time it takes for Carlos to move 2 meters – 1.23 seconds
• This is about 1.63 m/s
• Final kinetic energy of Carlos is mv²/2 = 0.5(0.44)(0.42)² = 6.35 joules
• Final kinetic energy of the ball is mv²/2 = 0.5(0.44)(31.67)2 = 220.66 joules.
• 𝚫KE_tot = (220.66 + 6.35) - (95.65 + 0) = 131.36 joules.

Is this right?

• YES
• External “work” is done by other forms of energy such as chemical and thermal energy.
• Chemical energy comes from eating food
• Other forms decrease as the energy from those buckets are converted into the bucket of kinetic energy of the system.

Works Cited

Bowman, Ben. “How Much Force Does It Take To Break A Bone?” Discovery. 1 August 2019. https://www.discovery.com/science/force-to-break-bone. Accessed 16 May 2024.

Brown, Shael. “The Physics of Kicking a Soccer Ball.” MathematicsShed. http://www.mathematicshed.com/uploads/1/2/5/7/12572836/physicsofkickingsoccerball.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2024.

Hamilton, James. “Weight and the Jabulani Ball.” More Than Mind Games. 7 July 2010. http://www.morethanmindgames.com/2010/07/07/weight-and-the-jabulani-ball/. Accessed 16 May 2024.

“Human Strength / Endurance Notes.” Roymech. https://roymech.org/Useful_Tables/Human/Human_strength.html#:~:text=A%20normal%20person%20. Accessed 15 May 2024.

“Roberto Carlos.” Eurosport. https://www.eurosport.com/football/roberto-carlos_prs205560/person.shtml. Accessed 17 May 2024.