levo

Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics

Spin and the Magnus effect

  • 3 things to know
  • Components 1 and 2

Overview

The Magnus force, how spin is created, the flight and bounce of topspin, backspin and sidespin, sidespin in football, tennis topspin and golf backspin, and reading spin to receive a ball.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Why do tennis players use topspin, and how do golfers use backspin?

Key term

What is the Magnus force, and how is spin put on a ball?

Key term

What is the Magnus force?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is the Magnus force?

    Model answer

    The Magnus force is the force created by a pressure difference around a spinning ball. The force makes the ball deviate from its expected path.

  2. 2

    How is spin created?

    Model answer

    Spin is created by applying an eccentric force to a ball, off its centre of mass. The ball then rotates as it travels.

  3. 3

    How does topspin affect a ball's flight?

    Model answer

    Topspin creates a downward Magnus force. The ball dips quickly in flight.

  4. 4

    How does topspin affect a ball's bounce?

    Model answer

    A ball with topspin gains speed as it grips the surface. The ball kicks on quickly off the bounce.

  5. 5

    How does backspin affect a ball's flight?

    Model answer

    Backspin creates an upward Magnus force. The ball stays in the air longer and floats.

  6. 6

    How does backspin affect a ball's bounce?

    Model answer

    A ball with backspin loses speed as it grips the surface. The ball sits up at a steeper angle and may even check back.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Health, Fitness and an Active Lifestyle
Short-Term Responses to Exercise
Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise
Fitness Testing and Components of Fitness

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Leadership is seen as .
innatelearnedtaught

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA larger base of support makes a performer more stable.
BA gymnast widens the feet on landing to avoid stepping.
CA lower centre of mass makes a performer more stable.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Flexion means a decrease in the angle at a joint.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Projectile Motion and Fluid Mechanics, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.