Physics In Cool Runnings:

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Physics in “Cool Runnings”: The movie “Cool Runnings” is about a Jamaican sprinter (Derice) that trains for the Olympic qualifiers, but unfortunately, an adjacent runner (Junior) falls and trips another runner (Yul) as well as Derice. Derice’s passion for going to the Olympics was not destroyed. He met Irv, a two time bobsled gold medalist, and convinced him to train the first Jamaican bobsled team to compete in the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. Derice gathered two other runners (Yul and Junior) and his best friend Sanka to start preparing. They needed to have physics on their side to perform well in the Olympics. Everything from the mass of each team member to the shoes they wear will affect the outcome the race. Friction may be the most important concept in bobsledding. The sport is performed on ice; therefore, the team needs a bobsled with thin, smooth runners. Teams favor the first run of the day because the ice is smooth, rather races later of the day, when the ice is scraped. Imperfections on the ice will create more friction causing a decrease in speed. While in Jamaica, the team trained on a large hill. The grass, rocks, and dirt have a high coefficient of friction with the wheels of the pushcart used for training. When they arrived to Calgary and commenced practice, their bobsled slid with so much ease that they were almost unable to enter it. The team needs to wear special shoes to grip the ice well to start the race. With any other type of shoe, it would be hard to sprint at the push-off. It took several practices for the team to get accustomed to the decrease in friction. The most important part of the race is the push-off. Teams need to overcome static friction to start their run. This is why, in the movie, Irv believes that Jamaican sprinters would do well in bobsledding (They are the fastest sprinters). It is easier to push a sled

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