Describe the flight path of a ball hit with topspin.

Topspin gives a downward Magnus force, so the ball dips and has a shorter flight. The ball drops sharply towards the court.

Explain why topspin makes a tennis ball dip.

The top of the ball spins into the oncoming air, slowing the airflow and raising pressure above. Air flows faster underneath, lowering pressure, so the Magnus force acts downwards.

Why do tennis players hit groundstrokes with topspin?

Topspin lets a player hit hard and high over the net while still landing the ball in court. The dipping flight makes powerful shots safer.

OCR A-Level Physical Education H555

Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Topic overview Shoulder, elbow and wrist joints and muscles Hip, knee and ankle joints and muscles Planes of movement, muscle roles and contractions Analysing movement in sporting actions Motor units and muscle fibre types

The Cardiovascular System

Topic overview Heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output at rest The cardiac cycle and conduction system Cardiac responses to exercise and recovery The vascular shunt mechanism Venous return and heart rate regulation

The Respiratory System

Topic overview Breathing frequency, tidal volume and minute ventilation Mechanics of breathing at rest and in exercise Regulation of breathing Gas exchange at the alveoli and the muscles

Energy for Exercise

Topic overview ATP and coupled reactions The ATP-PC system The glycolytic system The aerobic system The energy continuum and intermittent exercise EPOC and the recovery process

Environmental Effects on Body Systems

Topic overview Altitude and oxygen delivery Acclimatisation and timing arrival at altitude Exercise in the heat and cardiovascular drift

Diet, Nutrition and Ergogenic Aids

Topic overview Components of a balanced diet Energy balance, meals and hydration Anabolic steroids, EPO and HGH Blood doping, intermittent hypoxic training and cooling aids Carbohydrate loading and supplements

Aerobic Training

Topic overview VO₂max and the factors that affect it Testing aerobic capacity Continuous training, HIIT and target heart rates Adaptations to aerobic training

Strength and Flexibility Training

Topic overview Types of strength and strength testing Strength training methods Adaptations to strength training Types of flexibility and flexibility testing Flexibility training methods and adaptations

Periodisation of Training

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Training and Lifestyle Diseases

Topic overview Atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease Heart attack and stroke Asthma and COPD

Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation

Topic overview Acute and chronic injuries Risk factors, warm-up and cool-down SALTAPS, PRICE and concussion Fractures, joint injuries and muscle damage Treatments for sporting injuries

Biomechanical Principles and Levers

Topic overview Newton's laws and force calculations Forces and free body diagrams Centre of mass and stability Levers and mechanical advantage Limb kinematics, force plates and wind tunnels

Linear and Angular Motion

Topic overview Linear motion, distance and displacement Speed, velocity and acceleration Graphs of linear motion Angular motion and the axes of rotation Moment of inertia and conservation of angular momentum

Fluid Mechanics and Projectile Motion

Topic overview Air resistance and drag Factors affecting projectile distance Forces on a projectile and flight paths Bernoulli's principle and lift Spin and the Magnus effect

Skill Classification, Practice and Transfer

Topic overview Classifying skills by difficulty, environment and pacing Classifying skills by muscular involvement, continuity and organisation Whole, part, whole-part-whole and progressive part practice Massed, distributed, fixed and varied practice Transfer of learning between skills

Theories and Stages of Learning

Topic overview Operant conditioning Cognitive theory and insight learning Bandura's observational learning Fitts and Posner's stages of learning

Guidance and Feedback

Topic overview Verbal and visual guidance Manual and mechanical guidance Intrinsic, extrinsic, positive and negative feedback Knowledge of performance and knowledge of results

Memory Models

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Personality and Attitudes

Topic overview Trait theory of personality Social learning and interactionist perspectives Attitudes and the triadic model Persuasive communication and cognitive dissonance

Motivation and Arousal

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Anxiety

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Aggression

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Social Facilitation and Group Dynamics

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Goal Setting

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Attribution

Topic overview Weiner's model: locus of causality and stability Controllability, self-serving bias and attribution retraining Learned helplessness and mastery orientation

Confidence and Self-Efficacy

Topic overview Sports confidence, self-efficacy and self-esteem Vealey's model of sports confidence Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy Building confidence in performers

Leadership

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Stress Management

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Sport in Pre-Industrial and Industrial Britain

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Sport in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Topic overview Amateurism and professionalism in the 20th century Social change and sport in 20th-century Britain Class, gender and access in 21st-century sport The globalisation of sport

The Olympic Games and Global Sporting Events

Topic overview Coubertin and the aims of the modern Olympics Berlin 1936 and Mexico City 1968 Munich 1972 and the Cold War boycotts Hosting a global sporting event

Drugs in Sport

Topic overview Legal supplements and illegal doping Why elite performers dope Consequences of doping for society, sport and performers Strategies against doping

Violence and Gambling in Sport

Topic overview Causes of player and spectator violence Implications of violence in sport Preventing violence among players and spectators Match fixing, bribery and illegal betting

Commercialisation and the Media

Topic overview What drives the commercialisation of sport Impacts of commercialisation Television, radio, press and internet coverage Positive and negative effects of the media Sport as a commodity and the golden triangle

Routes to Sporting Excellence

Topic overview From talent identification to elite performance Schools, clubs and universities in elite success UK Sport and the national institutes Drop-out from elite programmes

Modern Technology in Sport

Topic overview Technology and elite performance Technology and general participation Technology and fair outcomes Technology and entertainment

Fluid Mechanics and Projectile Motion

Spin and the Magnus effect

3 things to know
Component 01

Overview

How spin is imparted, the Magnus force, topspin and backspin in tennis, golf and table tennis, how each behaves after a bounce, sidespin and a curling free kick, and the hook and slice in golf.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

Explain how spin creates a Magnus force.

Key term

How is spin imparted to a ball?

Key term

What is the Magnus force?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
How is spin imparted to a ball?
Model answer
Spin is imparted by applying an eccentric force, whose line of action passes outside the ball's centre of mass.
2
What is the Magnus force?
Model answer
The Magnus force is the force created by a pressure difference across a spinning projectile. The Magnus force makes the ball deviate from its expected flight path.
3
Explain how spin creates a Magnus force.
Model answer
The spinning surface moves with the airflow on one side, so the air there speeds up and pressure falls. The surface on the other side opposes the airflow, raising pressure. The ball deviates towards the lower pressure.
4
Describe the flight path of a ball hit with topspin.
Model answer
Topspin gives a downward Magnus force, so the ball dips and has a shorter flight. The ball drops sharply towards the court.
5
Explain why topspin makes a tennis ball dip.
Model answer
The top of the ball spins into the oncoming air, slowing the airflow and raising pressure above. Air flows faster underneath, lowering pressure, so the Magnus force acts downwards.
6
Why do tennis players hit groundstrokes with topspin?
Model answer
Topspin lets a player hit hard and high over the net while still landing the ball in court. The dipping flight makes powerful shots safer.

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Skeletal and Muscular Systems

The Cardiovascular System

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Energy for Exercise

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