Essay Sample about Olivia Dunne and Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a beautiful sport watched and played around the world. But it is much deeper than that. Other than the strict training and diet required to stay in such good shape. Many physics concepts are also crucial in gymnastics, such as momentum, Newton's first law of motion, and Newton's third law of motion. Olivia Page Dunne is a college athlete for Louisiana State University. She spends countless hours in the gym and focuses on eating healthy foods to see results.
Momentum, the quantity of motion measured as a product of its mass and velocity, is a vital part of gymnastics. In gymnastics, momentum is when a gymnast is swinging around the bars. She keeps swinging because she changes her weight distribution at specific points around the bar. When the gymnast reaches the handstand position at the top of the bar, high gravitational potential energy forces her to swing down again. The velocity that she is falling multiplied by her mass creates momentum making her swing back around. When she tucks her legs in, it decreases the distance from the spin axis, making her spin much faster, increasing velocity and momentum. These examples clearly show how momentum is such an essential part of gymnastics.
Newton's first law, "if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by force," is a vital part of gymnastics. The gymnast starts at rest on the uneven bars and gets in motion when a force is applied. The gymnast will continue to swing due to momentum and gravitational potential energy until they apply force to stop themselves. This example clearly shows how Newton's first law is an integral part of gymnastics.
Newton's third law, "for every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction," is a crucial part of understanding gymnastics. Newton's third law occurs in many ways while a gymnast performs a trick. When the gymnast is on the beam, she must push hard against the beam to rise upward. The more force the gymnast exerts on the beam causes the beam to exert the same energy back, which causes her to rise upward in the air. So, whenever a gymnast wants an upward movement, they must start with a downward push. The more force applied to the beam, the higher the gymnast will rise. A second example is when the gymnast uses a springboard. The gymnast puts force on the springboard, and the board exerts a force on the gymnast. The force from the springboard pushes the gymnast into the air. These examples clearly show how Newton's third law of motion is essential for gymnastics.
A famous Colegate gymnast, Olivia Dunne's success results from these physics concepts. Other than her millions of followers on social media, she is a great gymnast. in 2017, she was part of the US Olympic gymnastics team. As she is referred to on social media, Livvy stands at 5 foot 6 and is an all-American on the uneven bars. She uses her height to gain speed and momentum when performing her dismount. Since she is taller than most of her competitors, she must tuck her legs in tight to gain speed. This year Olivia is averaging a 9.925 score on the uneven bars, almost perfect. Olivia is a talented gymnast and hopes to take her skills to the professional level.
In Gymnastics, many scientific concepts make the sport as unique as it is. Three of these concepts are momentum, Newton's first law of motion, and Newton's third law of motion. Momentum is when the gymnast shifts her body weight to speed up around the axis. Newton's First law of motion is proven in gymnastics, with uneven bars. The gymnast will stay at rest until they apply a force to start swinging. When swinging, the gymnast will stay swinging until they apply a force to stop themselves. Finally, Newton's third law of motion is proven in gymnastics in 2 places, the beam, and the floor. When the gymnast wants to perform a trick in the air, they must apply force to the ground, making the ground apply the same energy back, propelling the gymnast upward. These three physics concepts are an integral part of the explanation behind gymnastics the tricks performed by gymnasts. In conclusion, although gymnastics may be fun to watch, there are scientific reasons to back up why things happen as they happen.
Works Cited
“Physics of Gymnastics.” Real World Physics Problems, 2019, www.real-world-physics-problems.com/physics-of-gymnastics.html.
Dunne, Livvy. “About Me.” LIVVY DUNNE, 9 July 2015, livvydunne.com/about-me/. Accessed 3 Mar. 2022.
“The Physics behind Gymnastics - Student Hub Uganda.” The Student Hub, www.studenthub.ug/blog/163/the-physics-behind-gymnastics#:~:text=When%20the%20gymnast%20reaches%20the. Accessed 7 Mar. 2022.
Nugteren, Arwen. “The Physics of Gymnastics.” Scientia Potentia Est, 14 Oct. 2018, scientiapotentiaest433226524.wordpress.com/2018/10/15/the-physics-of-gymnastics/.
