When catching a ball, a cricketer moves his hands for a short distance in the direction of travel of the ball as it makes contact with his hands. Explain why this technique results in less force being exerted on the cricketer's hands

As his hand moves back with the ball, the time taken to stop the ball is greater. This means that the rate of change of momentum is less (because the rate of him changing the speed of the ball is much slower). Newton's second law of motion states that a body's rate of change in momentum is equal to the net force acting on it. Therefore, the lower the rate of change of momentum, the lower the force. Alternatively, work done on the ball is the same but there's a greater distance, therefore less force is applied.

Answered by Lisa W. Physics tutor

9212 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Explain how a bright line is formed by the diffraction grating at the first order diffraction angle


How do I find the x and y components of a vector?


A water jet starts at a point X and reaches its maximum height at a point Y. Air resistance has a negligible effect on the motion of the water jet. (i) State the direction of the force acting on the jet at Y. (1 mark)


Draw the electric field lines produced by a negative point charge and calculate the electric field strength at a distance of 50mm from a point charge of size -30nC.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences