Basketball: How It Works (The Science of Sports (Sports Illustrated for Kids)) Paperback – April 1, 2010

My great nephew is a talented 10-year-old who plays basketball really well for his age. He seemed excited to get this as a gift.

Ordered for a basketball themed raffle basket to donate to my son's school Harvest Festival fundraiser. Such a great price and arrived right on time.

Gave this book to my 9 year old nephew who loves basketball. He thought it was great and knew all the players in the book.

My grandson who is 12 and dreaming of being the best on his basketball team, love this book . He said he learned a lot from this book.

Poor value for money. I could not see what market this was written for. A disappointing gift for my basket ball playing grandson.

If you think that the key to being a good basketball player is simply a bit of athletic ability and height, you might want to rethink that theory. There really is a lot of "science" to the game and in this book you're going to be introduced to it ... in a fun way of course. You're going to learn about such terms as momentum, friction, force, gravity, kinetic energy, and several other terms and how they relate to the game and its players. Many of these terms directly relate to physics, a subject that most youngsters would rather avoid than embrace, but when you combine them with basketball the subject actually is of high interest.Take for example the basketball itself. Combined with the skill of the player, the way the ball bounces can be a make or break key to winning a game. In order to keep the playing field level and fair, the International Basketball Federation (IBF) has specific requirements the ball must meet in the "bounce" department. You'll be able to read about why the ball bounces and learn why "air molecules" are the key to the process. You'll also learn the reason NBA players prefer a leather ball over a synthetic one.There are a few little "secrets" that can be had by reading this book. You'll get to take a look at why getting an arc on the ball and putting backspin on your free throw can actually help you. You'll learn about dribbling (momentum), you'll watch Chris Paul race down the court (mass vs. weight), you'll learn why a wrist snap is effective (static friction force), what happens when that ball is up in the air (revolution), you'll learn about hitting the trey (resistance force, effort force, fulcrum), and you'll learn many other interesting facets about the game of basketball and, by default, physics!This is an exceptionally entertaining way to learn about the physics of basketball and get a few pointers at the same time. Most of us would think that this type of book would be quite boring, but I found it to be quite the opposite. I've read one other in this series, "Baseball: How it Works," and found that to be of high interest as well. In this book we get to see many of the NBA's best players at work and find out the physics of the sport as we go. There are small sidebars that point out exactly what is happening in an action scene. One of the most interesting ones was when Troy Murphy collided with Marreese Speights. You'll get to learn about kinetic energy when you take a look at that smash up. In the back of the book is an index, a glossary, and additional book and Internet sites to explore via FactHound.