"Science of NFL Football" is a 10-part video series funded by the National Science Foundation and produced in partnership with the National Football League. Lessonopoly has created student activities and lesson plans to support the video series, Science of the NFL, created by NBC Learn and the National Science Foundation. Featuring exclusive footage and contributions from football players and NSF scientists, the series will help teach your students concepts like nutrition, kinematics, and projectile motion. Each video is complemented with lesson plans which include fun classroom activities. Like what you see? Rate and write a comment on the lesson plan! If you're using any of these lesson plans in your classroom, we'd love to hear from you! Please contact us at amy[at]svefoundation.org.
Pythagorean Theorem
	NBC's Lester Holts explores the path a defender must take in order to tackle a ball carrier, and how this distance - called the "angle of pursuit" - can be calculated by using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the hypotenuse of a right triangle, and the distance of a defender's angle of pursuit.
Lesson Plan: The Pythagorean Theorem (Grade 8): To understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem, students will work in groups to make a simulated model of two NFL players setting up a run for the goal line.
Torque & Center of Mass
	NBC's Lester Holt looks at how the physics concepts of torque and center of mass are applied in football by some of the games most massive players: the offensive linemen.
Lesson Plan: Torque in Daily Life (Grades 5-8): Introduces students to the concept of torque through a short NBC Learn video on the science of the NFL, demonstrations, and a lab activity. Students learn how to calculate torque. Students also learn how torque is used is simple machines, everyday life, and in sports.
Newton's Third Law of Motion
	NBC's Lester Holt looks at Newton's Third Law of Motion and the role that conservation of momentum plays whenever players collide on the football field.
Lesson Plan: Newton's Third Law, Force Pairs (Grades 5-8): Introduces students to Newton’s 3rd Law. Focuses on misconceptions regarding action and reaction pairs, and emphasizes that force pairs occur simultaneously.
Newton's Second Law of Motion
	NBC's Lester Holt and former NFL kicker, Morten Andersen, look at what’s really behind powerful field goal kicks - Newton’s Second Law of Motion.
Lesson Plan: Newton's Second Law of Motion & Kicking (Grades 6-9): Students will learn about Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion and how it applies to field goal kicking and punting. Students will analyze forces acting on a ball and determine whether the forces are unbalanced and whether the object is accelerating.
Newton's First Law of Motion
	In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt looks at Newton's First Law of Motion and the role that unbalanced forces play whenever a ball carrier goes head to head with a defender.
Lesson Plan: Inertia in Our Lives (Grades 5-8): Introduces students to the law of inertia through fun demonstrations, activities, and a funny YouTube video. Students analyze the role of inertia and unbalanced forces in various activities, sports, and life.
Geometric Shapes: Spheres, Ellipses & Prolate Spheroids
	"Science of NFL Football" is a 10-part video series funded by the National Science Foundation and produced in partnership with the National Football League. In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt explores the prolate spheroid, the three-dimensional shape of a football, and how it helps an NFL quarterback throw a hard, accurate pass.
Lesson Plan: Geometric Shapes – Spheres, Ellipses, and Spirals (Grade 8): Students will learn about the characteristics of spheres, prolate spheroids, and spirals, specifically analyzing the football and how its design makes it ideal for the game it is used in. Students will conduct an experiment to compare the effectiveness of different sports balls in the areas of accuracy, distance, and speed.
Kinematics - Position, Velocity & Acceleration
	In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt and former NFL running back Deuce McAllister explore kinematics on the playing field. NSF-funded scientists Tony Schmitz from the University of Florida and John Ziegert of Clemson University explain how the kinematic concepts of position, velocity and acceleration can be used to define how a running back moves.
Lesson Plan: Kinematics: Speed, Velocity & Acceleration (Grades 6-9): Students will use stop motion animation to learn about various aspects of motion such as speed, velocity, and acceleration. Initially, the students will observe an animation and analyze the motion of an object. They will be introduced to a way of diagramming motion called motion maps. Next, the students will use their understanding of motion to plan and produce their own stop motion animations. Also, the students will have the opportunity to run their own 40 yard dash and compute their speeds.
Vectors
	In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt looks at the role vectors play every time an NFL quarterback throws a pass. With the help of former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington, NSF-funded scientist John Ziegert of Clemson University and NSF-funded mathematician Rhonda Hughes of Bryn Mawr College explain how to use vectors to calculate the speed and direction needed for a completed pass.
Lesson Plan: Vectors and the Quarterback Pass (Grades 6-9): Students will learn how perpendicular velocity vectors add in sports and in general. Through class discussion, investigations with the apparatus, and small group discussion, students will develop a kinesthetic intuition for the addition of velocity vectors . The activity will be followed up with a formal lesson on a graphical method for adding vectors. The lesson includes several extensions as well as an individual practice worksheet, a quiz, and teacher keys.
Nutrition, Hydration & Health
	In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt looks at the physically demanding pre-season ritual of NFL training camp. Douglas Casa, head of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, and athletic trainers from the Pittsburgh Steelers explain what NFL players must do to stay hydrated and replenish the essential nutrients needed to maintain good health during rigorous practices.
Lesson Plan: Nutrition and Hydration (Grades 5-8): Students will compare their own water and nutritional needs to lead a healthy lifestyle with those of an NFL player in pre-season training camp. Through an analysis of the nutrients and water they currently ingest and the effects of physical exertion, they will assess their own health, and apply what they have learned to designing an optimal pre or post training camp workout snack for their favorite player.
Projectile Motion & Parabolas
	In this segment, NBC's Lester Holt looks at the science of projectile motion and parabolas with the help of former NFL punter Craig Hentrich. NSF-funded scientists Jim Gates from the University of Maryland and John Ziegert of Clemson University, and NSF-funded mathematician Rhonda Hughes from Bryn Mawr College, explain the significance of vertical and horizontal velocity on the trajectory every time an NFL punter kicks a football into the sky.
Lesson Plan: Punting and Projectile Motion (Grades 5-8): After a short intro activity in which students throw various objects into buckets, the class will watch “THE SCIENCE OF NFL FOOTBALL – Projectile Motion and Parabolas”. Students will then use a computer simulation program to investigate the variables that affect a projectile’s range and time in the air. Finally, students will apply what they learn from the simulations to analyze punting strategies in different situations.