The Game of Volleyball The basic concept of the game of volleyball was invented by William C. Morgan, but William actually called the game Mintonette. In 1896, Alfred T. Halstead changed the game’s name to volleyball because of the way the ball was volleyed back and forth between each side. Playing volleyball requires there to be two teams volleying volleyball back and forth across a net. In 1916, volleyball officially became part of college and High School physical education programs. Three physic concepts used in volleyball are Newton’s first law, acceleration, and Newton’s third law. Newton’s first law is an important physics concept used in the game of volleyball. “Newton’s first law states that an object in motion will remain constant unless acted upon by some unbalanced force.” (Physical Science textbook page 389) This law is also known as the law of inertia. For example, the net won’t move unless it is hit by the volleyball or a player. If the volleyball is spiked, the ball travels straight down towards the floor, unless a player can dive and hit the volleyball upwards. When a player dives and hits the volleyball upwards, it causes the direction of the motion to change. In volleyball, another physic concept used is acceleration.

During a game of volleyball, there is constant acceleration. A player has positive and negative acceleration. A player has positive and negative acceleration as the player moves forward and speeds up to get the ball; or when the player moves but then slows down to contact the volleyball. A volleyball being served is also experiencing constant acceleration until the point when it drops toward the floor. When hitting, a player can hit the volleyball at a steeper angle if the player can jump higher when the player takes off to hit. Also, having the ability to read the speed and position of the volleyball set is important in knowing when to take one’s approach in order for a great kill. Another physics concept used in volleyball is Newton’s third law. “Newton’s third law states that for every action force there is an equal but opposite reaction force.”(Physical Science textbook page 393) The less time the ball is in contact with the player, the more force is applied to the volleyball. A player can pass the volleyball because the volleyball is a force on the player’s arms, and the player’s arms are pushing the volleyball back up. The force from the