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Math Ia

The document discusses investigating the optimal angle for releasing a basketball during a jump shot using quadratic equations. It explains that a jump shot involves jumping vertically and releasing the ball with a flick of the wrist so that it travels in a parabolic arc into the basket. The aim is to determine the best angle of release to maximize the chance of scoring. The method outlines that the trajectory of the basketball can be modeled as a quadratic function with a negative leading coefficient since it concaves downward. Experiments will involve shooting from the free throw line which is 15 feet from the hoop while accounting for the heights of the shooter and rim.

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Tony Vo
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1K views1 page

Math Ia

The document discusses investigating the optimal angle for releasing a basketball during a jump shot using quadratic equations. It explains that a jump shot involves jumping vertically and releasing the ball with a flick of the wrist so that it travels in a parabolic arc into the basket. The aim is to determine the best angle of release to maximize the chance of scoring. The method outlines that the trajectory of the basketball can be modeled as a quadratic function with a negative leading coefficient since it concaves downward. Experiments will involve shooting from the free throw line which is 15 feet from the hoop while accounting for the heights of the shooter and rim.

Uploaded by

Tony Vo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Aim
  • Brief Research
  • Method
  • Main Idea

MATH IA - Tony Vo

(modified)
Main idea:
Basketball has always been a part of my life. It taught me competitive spirit, discipline
and played a huge part in making me who I am today. In basketball, the most common
mechanic that you have to master before even playing a game is the jump shot. The jump shot
is the shooting technique at which the player shoots the ball towards the basket from jumping
vertically.

Brief research:
To picture a jump shot, the player usually shoots with one hand and the other holds the
ball to a set point before releasing it. The shooting hand’s elbows are tucked under the ball,
fingers are spread evenly to create a bigger surface area which leads to a higher percentage of
making the bucket. The player jumps vertically and releases the ball by flicking the wrist. The
ball travels in a parabolic shape concaving downwards drawing from the release point of the
player and ending up in the basket. Of course, there will be different factors that will affect the
jump shot like having to shoot contested or the distance of the shooter to the basket. These
factors will affect the percentage of hitting a shot in a game. That is why looking at videos of
professional basketball players shooting in practice, they just simply don’t miss. But it is a whole
different story in a game. This parabolic shape can be calculated using quadratic equations.

Aim:
In this Internal assessment, I will be investigating the path of the ball upon release to the
basket using quadratic equations and find out what is the best angle that players should release
the ball at to give them the highest possibility to score in a basketball game.

Method:
Quadratic functions when drawn out look like a U shape either concave upwards or
downwards. In this context, our parabola will concave down words as the peak of the ball
reaches the top. How do we determine if the parabola concaves downwards or upwards? First,
we have to understand the quadratic equation’s formula and what each variable does to affect
the parabola. The general form for quadratic equations is: f(x) = ax2 + bx + c where a ≠ 0. We can
find where the parabola concaves using a. If a is positive, the parabola concaves upwards like the letter
“u”. If a is negative, the parabola will concave downwards like how a basketball travels when someone
shoots it. Conclusively, our a for this function will be negative.

In this experiment, I will be shooting the basketball from the free throw line. Which is
exactly 15 feet from the hoop. We can determine the distance between the release of the ball to
the hoop is 15 feet. We also have to consider the height of the shooter, let’s say 6 feet tall. And
the height of the rim which is 10 feet tall.

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