INTRODUCTION

As far as my memory goes to my childhood, I have always cherished the great values inculcated in
me by my parents and my teachers. One of them has been, “Academics and sports must be pursued
simultaneously in the formative years of a student, as a healthy body works wonders towards a
sound mind.” Such value has nourished my interest in sports and I, not only play indoor and out-
door games like badminton and football, but also avid watcher of many sport activities and games.

Basketball is one such game that watch keenly whenever I get a chance to. In this game, it is quite
thrilling to watch a player manoeuvre the ball, meander through the rival players and throw the ball
to goal it in the opponent’s basket with such an ease from a seemingly difficult location in the court.

In the present investigation, I want to explore the mathematics behind such a throw which results
into a perfect shot to basket the ball from any permissible location in the court.

AIM

The aim of this exploration is to look at the spatial orientation of this location of the ball with re-
spect to the location of the basket and to calculate the direction of the throw and the minimum effort
required so that the ball lands in the basket. I will call such a throw or shot as the most optimised
shot. So the aim of this investigation is to evaluate the most optimised shot to be imparted to the
ball to basket the same.

THE GAME AND THE PLAYING COURT

Before I dig into the mathematical calculation to achieve the aim of this investigation, it is worth-
while to discuss in short about the game and the dimensions of the court in which the game is
played.

BASKETBALL, THE GAME

It is a team sport that is played between two teams,

each consisting of 5 players. It is an indoor game
played inside a rectangular court, the dimensions
of which vary in accordance with the guidelines of
the governing body of the tournament in which the
game is played.

In this game, each team tries to score by throwing

the ball into the basket of the opponent’s area. The
basket is a netted hoop and is located at an ele-
vated position, as shown in the adjacent image.

BASKETBALL COURT AND ITS DIMEN-

SIONS

For this investigation, I will consider the court which is specified by the FIBA. FIBA, which derives
its acronym from the French name Federation Internationale de Basketball, is the world governing
body for basketball. This federa-
tion organises international com-
petitions like Basketball world
cup and the Olympic Basketball
Tournament.

A typical image of FIBA play-

ing court for basketball is shown
in the adjacent.

Apart from the dimensional val-

ues as shown in the adjacent im-
age, the following are the data
which will be used to evaluate
the desired result.

The height of the hoop(basket)

off the ground is 10 feet or equivalently 3.05 meters. I will assume this value to be 3 meters for the
ease of calculation and denote tis with the variable hh

hh = 3m
The diameter of the rim of the hoop is 18 inches or equivalently 0.45 meters.
1 inch = 2.5cm = 0.025m
18 inches = 0.025 x 18 = 0.45m
Let this be denoted by the variable ‘D’
D= 0.45m

The diameter of the ball is 10 inches or equivalently= 10 x 0.025

= 0.25m
Let it be denoted by the variable ‘d’
d = 0.25m

ASSUMPTIONS:
Following, are the assumptions made for the calculations not to run out of the scope of this explora-
tion.
• Air resistance or air drag is considered to be zero when the ball is thrown
• The ball is assumed to be thrown towards the hoop from a level of 2 meters off the ground level

Let the height be denoted by the variable hb

hb = 2 meters
As hh = 3 meters and hb = 2 meters, the difference in the vertical levels of the ball and the hoop
(basket) is:

hh. - hb = 3- 2 = 1 meter
Let this be denoted by the variable h
h = 1 meter

AREA OF THE THROW OF THE BALL

I will consider the following shaded area as shown in figure 1.1 of the court from where the ball is
thrown to basket and evaluate the optimised shot.
CONCEPTS FOR THE EVALUATION

I will use the following concepts for the evaluation of the de-
sired result.
• Vectors
• Simple Trigonometry
• Quadratic Equation
• Geometry of Projection
• Projectile motion and kinematics from physics

EVALUATION OF THE OPTIMISED SHOT.

To evaluate the optimised shot, I will calculate the direction

of the throw of the ball or in other words, it is the calculation
of the angle at which the ball is thrown with the horizontal
level. I will also calculate the speed with which the ball
should be thrown.
For the above calculations, the following are to be taken into
consideration:

figure 1.1
• The orientation with respect to the hoop, of the location of the ball from where it is thrown. The
orientation can be shown by the position vector of the centre of the ball with respect to the centre
of the hoop.
• The permissive direction of the approach of the ball towards the hoop so that it turns into a goal.
This will be shown as the angle that the direction of the motion of the
ball makes with the horizontal.

As shown in figure no. 1.2 the centre of the hoop is being considered as
the origin ‘O’ of a three dimensional coordinate system and the three or-
thogonal axes are oriented relative to the playing area of the court as fol-
lows;

XX' - Horizontal axis passing through the centre of the hoop and its par-
allel to the direction of breadth of the court.

YY' - Horizontal axis passing through the centre of the hoop and its par-
allel to the direction of the length of the court.

ZZ' - Vertical axis passing through the centre of the hoop.

figure 1.2
⃗
As shown in the figure 1.2, 𝑟 is the position vector of the ball and its vector components are as fol-
lows:
⃗
𝑟 = xî + yj+ zk
Hence the magnitude of the vector component is already decided as mentioned before as hh and hb
meter, and as the level of the ball is below the hoop by a distance of 1 meter the position vector of
the ball can be written as:
 ⃗
𝑟= xî + yj - k

Here x and y do not have a range of values which can be enlisted below considering the dimensions
depicted in the figure 1.2

|x| ∊ [0, 7.5]

|y| ∊ [5, 20]
|z| = 1

The precise reason of considering the absolute value of the range of x and y components of the po-
sition vector of the ball is that as the two longitudinal halves of the court are symmetrically posi-
tioned with the position of the hoop, the angle and speed of the throw of the ball will just be mirror
images for any two symmetrical positions in the two halves from where the ball is thrown to basket
it.

Next, I will define the velocity vector of the ball as follows which encapsulates the value of speed
and the direction imparted to the bell to basket it. Let the ve-
locity vector of the ball be defined as :
⃗
𝑣 =vy1i + vy1j + vz1k

Another three dimensional coordinate system is attached to

the ball’s position from where it is thrown as shown in figure
1.3.

O’ = origin of the coordinate system being the centre of the

ball

The three axes are named X1X’1 , Y1Y’1 and Z1Z’1 and these are parallel to the axes XX’ , YY’ and
ZZ’ respectively.
figure 1.3
⃗
If the angles made by the vector 𝑣 with the axes X1X’1 , Y1Y’1 and Z1Z’1 are 𝝰, 𝝰 and 𝝰 respec-
tively, then from the concept of three dimensional geometry, I know that the direction cosines of the
vector can be written as:
𝑣𝑥1 𝑣𝑦1 𝑣𝑧1
cos 𝝰 = ⃗ ; cos 𝝰 = ⃗ ; cos 𝝰 = ⃗
|𝑣 | |𝑣 | |𝑣 |

⃗
Hence, 𝑣 = √𝑣𝑥12 + 𝑣𝑦12 + 𝑣𝑧12
𝑣𝑥1
𝝰 = cos-1 ( )
√𝑣𝑥12 +𝑣𝑦12 +𝑣𝑧12

𝑣𝑦1
𝝰 = cos-1 ( )
√𝑣𝑥12 +𝑣𝑦12 +𝑣𝑧12

𝑣𝑧1
𝝰 = cos-1 ( )
√𝑣𝑥12 +𝑣𝑦12 +𝑣𝑧12

From the above expressions, it is quite clear that evaluation of the optimised values of the compo-
nents of the velocity vector will furnish both the magnitude of the optimised speed with which the
ball is thrown, and the direction in which it should be thrown.
DECIDING FACTORS FOR OPTIMISATION

My common sense ensures that one of the factors for the optimised shot is the position of the ball
from where it is thrown with respect to the hoop. However, it is quite interesting to explore the di-
rection in which the ball enters the hoop and the corresponding speed of the throw.

Before I explore this, I will find out the permissible values of the directions of the ball for it to pass
through the top opening of the hoop.

To find out the above, I will use the geometry of projection as fol-
lows:

In the adjacent figure 1.4, the direction of the ball shown by an arrow
mark makes an angle θ with the horizontal. If AB is the diameter of
the hoop, and AC is the diameter of the ball, contained in the line
MN that is perpendicular to the direction of the ball, and BP is the
perpendicular drawn from point B on the line MN, then the projected
length of AB on the line MN is AP. If the projected length is ≥ the
diameter of the ball, the ball can pass through the hoop.

Projected length can be calculated from the right angled triangle ABP
as:

figure 1.4

Clearly, ∠ ABP=θ and from simple trigonometric concept,

AP=AB sinθ

As discussed above, for the ball to pass through, AP ≥ AC

⇒ AB sinθ ≥ AC
𝐴𝐶
⇒ sinθ ≥ 𝐴𝐵
Substituting the values of the diameter of the hoop and the ball,
figure 1.5
0.25
sinθ ≥ 0.45

5
sinθ ≥ 9

EVALUATION OF OPTIMISED SHOT

In order to calculate the values of speed and the direction of the optimum shot, I will leverage the
following concepts
• Concepts of projectile motion from physics
• Concepts of extreme (maxima/minima) from differential calculus

As this exploration pertains to mathematics, it is worthwhile to discuss the concepts of projectile

motion in detail as follows:

Projectile Motion: When a particle is thrown obliquely near the earth’s surface, it moves in a para-
bolic path provided the particle remains close to the surface of earth and the air resistance is negligi-
ble. Such motion of the particle is known as projectile motion. It is a two dimensional motion i..e.
the motion is constrained in a plane.
An example of such a motion os furnished in the adjacent figure 1.5
and also some of the terms widely used in such motion are discussed
and will be used in furthering this exploration.
Shown in the figure 1.6 are the following:

1. A projectile motion is shown in a R-Z plane where OR is the hori-

zontal axis parallel to the surface of the earth and OZ axis the ver-
tical axis.
2. Point O is the pint from where the particle is thrown. Such point is
known as point of projection.
⃗
3. 𝑥 is initial velocity of the particle
4. Β is the angle with the horizontal axis (i.e., R-axis) at which the
particle is thrown.Such angle is known as the angle of projection.
5. The particle moves in a parabolic path, passes through the highest
point A and falls at point B on R axis.
figure 1.6
6. The parabolic path followed by the particle is called trajectory of the particle.
7. Considering a point P on the trajectory
• The vertical distance PN as shown is the vertical displacement (Z) of the particle.
• ON is the horizontal displacement (r) of the particle

7. The gravitational acceleration (g) acts on the particle, vertically downwards throughout the mo-
tion of the particle.

8. There is no acceleration or retardation due to any external force acting on the particle in the hori-
zontal direction.

9. In view of the above point, the particle has uniform value of its speed in horizontal direction. In
⃗ ⃗
other words, the horizontal component of the initial velocity (𝑢) i.e. 𝑢 cosB remains unaltered
throughout the motion of the particle.

KINEMATICS AND THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION

Now I will discuss about kinematics and the equations of motion of a particle.
Kinematics: It is the branch of physics which deals with the motion of the object.
Equations of motion for uniformly accelerated motion:
⃗
𝑢= initial velocity of particle
⃗
𝑣 = velocity of particle at time t
⃗ ⃗
𝑎= acceleration of the particle (𝑎= constant)
⃗
And 𝑠= displacement of the particle in time t
Then, from kinematics the following are the equations of motion of the particle
⃗ ⃗ ⃗
𝑣 =𝑢 + 𝑎(t)
⃗ ⃗ 1 ⃗
𝑠= 𝑢 (t)+ 2 𝑎(𝑡 2 )
⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗ ⃗
𝑣 .𝑣 = 𝑢.𝑢 + 2 𝑎.𝑠 {Note: The dot (.) is being used for dot product of the vectors}

If the particle is moving in a straight line, the above equations can be directly used without using
the vector addition or using the dot product of the vectors, and the equations can be written as fol-
lows:
v= u + at1
s= ut+ a𝑡 22
𝑣 2 =𝑢2 + 2as3
Sign convention to be followed for the vector quantities like s, u and a, are as follows:
Vertically up ↑ as +ve
Horizontally down ↓ as -ve
Horizontally rightward → as +ve
Horizontally leftward ← as -ve

Having discussed about the projectile motion

of a particle and the kinematics equations of a
particle in one dimension, I will use the above
equations in combination with the concepts of
extrema in differential calculus and evaluate
the optimum shot in the next section.

EVALUATION OF THE OPTIMUM SHOT

Frames of references with reference to the

hoop and the ball are shown as discussed be-
fore.

figure 1.7

As shown in the above figure 1.7, the ball is thrown from a point O’ the position vector of which,
with respect to the location of hoop, i.e. point O is:
⃗
𝑂′ 𝑂= -xz -yj -zk
= x1z + y1j + z1k

This implies that |x| = |x1| ; |y| = |y1| and |z| = |z1|
⃗
It is quite clear that the trajectory of the ball and the position vector 𝑂′ 𝑂 will be in the same vertical
plane passing through O and O’.

1
Physics.info. (n.d.). Equations of Motion – The Physics Hypertextbook. [online] Available at: https://physics.info/mo-
tion-equations/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
2
Physics.info. (n.d.). Equations of Motion – The Physics Hypertextbook. [online] Available at: https://physics.info/mo-
tion-equations/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
3
Physics.info. (n.d.). Equations of Motion – The Physics Hypertextbook. [online] Available at: https://physics.info/mo-
tion-equations/ [Accessed 3 Feb. 2018].
The projectile motion and the trajectory of the ball are being reproduced in this above mentioned
vertical plane as follows:

⃗
Let the velocity vector of the ball be 𝑢 mak-
ing an angle β with the horizontal line i.e.
O’B.
Here O’B is parallel to the ground level and
as discussed and shown in the figures, its dis-
tance(shortest) from point O is 1 meter (=h)

From coordinate geometry it is clear that the

magnitude of O’B, denoted with variable r,
is:
r= √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2

figure 1.7
⃗
The vertical and horizontal components of the velocity 𝑢 of the ball can be written as:
Horizontal component = ur = ucosβ
Vertical component = uz = usinβ

I have already discussed that of the ball’s movement makes an angle of θ at the hoop then
5
sinθ≥9Next, I will leverage the kinematic equations and find the optimum velocity to be imparted
5
for the given position vector of the ball and under the constant sinθ≥9. Let the time of flight for the
ball to reach the hoop be t.

MOTION IN HORIZONTAL DIRECTION

Velocity is constant = u cosβ = ur
Magnitude of displacement = r = √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2
Acceleration=0
1
∴ π= uπt+ 2(0)𝑡 2
𝜋
⇒ uπ = 𝑡

MOTION IN VERTICAL DIRECTION:

Initial velocity (upwards) = uz1 = u sinβ
Magnitude of displacement = h = 1m
Acceleration of the ball (downwards) is due to the gravity = -g
1
∴ h = uz1t - 2g𝑡 2

2ℎ+𝑔𝑡 2
⇒ uz1 = 2𝑡

𝑢2 = 𝑢2 z1 + 𝑢2 r

2
(2ℎ+𝑔𝑡 2 ) 𝑟2
⇒ 𝑢2 = (2𝑡)2
+ 𝑡2

4ℎ2 +𝑔2 𝑡 4 +4𝑔ℎ𝑡 2 𝑟2

= 4𝑡 2
+ 𝑡2
 1
⇒ 𝑢2 = ℎ2 t-2 + 4 𝑔2 𝑡 2 + 𝑔ℎ + 𝑟 2 t-2

Optimising u: If u is minimum, then 𝑢2 is also minimum

∴ Applying concept of extremum from differential calculus, I will differentiate the above ex-
pression of 𝑢2 with respect to t and equate the gradient to zero to find the corresponding value
of u, and check for the minimum value of u.
𝑑 𝑑 𝑔2 𝑡 2
∴ 𝑑𝑡 𝑢2 = 𝑑𝑡 [ℎ2 t-2 + 4
+ 𝑔ℎ + 𝑟 2 t-2 ]

𝑔2 𝑡
= -2h2t-3+ 2
− 2𝑟 2 t-3

𝑔2 𝑡 4 −4𝑟 2 −4ℎ2
= 2𝑡 3

Equating these to zero, I get

𝑔2 𝑡 4 −4𝑟 2 −4ℎ2
2𝑡 3
=0

⇒ 𝑔2 𝑡 4 − 4𝑟 2 − 4ℎ2 = 0

⇒ 𝑔2 𝑡 4 = 4(𝑟 2 + ℎ2 )
4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )
⇒𝑡 4 = 𝑔2

[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ 2)]1⁄4
⇒t =
√𝑔

Now, I will differentiate the expression for 𝑢2 again to check the value of second derivative of
[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 )]1⁄4
𝑢2 for its sign at t = .
√𝑔

𝑑 [𝑔2 𝑡 4 −4𝑟 2 −4ℎ 2

∴ 𝑑𝑡 2𝑡 3

𝑑 𝑔2
= 𝑑𝑡 [ 2 𝑡 − 2𝑟 2 t-1 -2h2t-3]

𝑔2 2𝑟 2 6ℎ 2
= 2 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡4
It is very clear that, on substituting the value of t in the above expression, the value obtained
will be positive only as the values of all the terms in the expression are positive.
∴ 𝑢2 takes a minimum value for:
[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
t=
√𝑔
Substituting these values in the expression for 𝑢2 , I get:
ℎ2 1 𝑟2
(umin)2 = 𝑡 2 + 4 𝑔2 𝑡 2 + 𝑔ℎ + 𝑡 2

ℎ 2 +𝑟 2 𝑔2 𝑡 2
= 𝑡2
+ 𝑔ℎ + 4
ℎ 2 +𝑟 2 𝑔2 [4(𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 )]1⁄4 2
= [4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4 2
+ 𝑔ℎ + 4
[ ]
[ ] √𝑔
√𝑔
 (ℎ2 +𝑟 2 )𝑔 𝑔2 √(49𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 )
= + 𝑔ℎ + [ ]
√4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 ) 4 𝑔

√ℎ 2 +𝑟 2 𝑔 𝑔
= 2
+ 𝑔ℎ + 2 √ℎ2 + 𝑟 2

= √ℎ2 + 𝑟 2 𝑔 + 𝑔ℎ + 𝑔[√ℎ2 + 𝑟 2 + ℎ]

∴ umin = √𝑔[√𝜋 2 + ℎ2 + ℎ]

∴ Substituting the value of 𝑟 2 i.e.

𝜋2 = 𝑥2 + 𝑦2

umin = √𝑔[√𝑥 2 + ℎ2 + 𝑦 2 + ℎ]

FINDING ANGLE OF PROJECTION (B) OF BALL

⃗
From the components of the initial velocity of vector i.e. 𝑢 the angle of
projection can be evaluated easily as follows:
𝑢𝑧1
Clearly tanβ= 𝑢𝑟
𝑢𝑧1
⇒ β = tan-1 𝑢𝑟

As expressed earlier;
𝜋 √𝑥 2 +𝑦 2
ur= 𝑡 = 𝑡

So uπ corresponding to umin is: figure 1.8

(√𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 ) 𝑔 [4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
uπ =[4(𝑟2+ℎ2)]√1⁄4 as t =
√𝑔
√ 𝜋 𝑔
= [4(𝑟2+ℎ 2 ])1⁄4

And, the value of uz1 is:

2ℎ+𝑔𝑡 2
uz1 = 2𝑡
[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
So uz1 corresponding to umin is for t=
√𝑔
[2ℎ+𝑔[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4 ]2
∴ uz1 = 2[4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄2
√𝑔

𝑔√4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )
[2ℎ+ √ ] 𝑔
𝑔
⇒ uz1 = 2[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4

[2ℎ+√4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]√𝑔

⇒ uz1 = 2[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4

2[ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ2 ]√𝑔

⇒ uz1 = 2[4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
 (ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 )√𝑔
⇒ uz1 = [4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
Substituting the values of uπ and uz1 in the expression for angle of projection,
𝑢𝑧1
β= tan-1 𝑢𝜋

(ℎ+√[𝑟2 +ℎ2 ]√𝑔)

[4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
= tan-1 𝜋√𝑔
[4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4

ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ2
= tan-1 𝑟

ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ 2
∴ Angle of projection for the optimised shot (β) = tan-1 ( 𝑟
)
Substituting the value of 𝑟 2 = 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2

ℎ+√𝑥 2 +𝑦2 +ℎ2

β= tan-1 ( 𝑥 2 +𝑦 2
)

∴ Given the coordinates of the centre of the ball with respect to the centre of the hoop, the opti-
mised shot has been evaluated as:
umin= √𝑔[𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + ℎ2 + ℎ]
ℎ+√𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 +ℎ2
Corresponding angle of projection = β = tan-1 ( )
√𝑥 2 +𝑦 2
Next, I am going to check of the result obtained as above for the optimum shot of the ball, remains
valid under the discussed constraint i.e.
5
sinθ ≥ 9

Where θ is the angle made by the velocity of the ball at the hoop with the horizontal. Referring to
the components of the velocity of ball at hoop, already discussed that uπ remains constant
and u’z1 =vertical component of velocity
Can be found using the equation of kinematics :

𝑢2 𝑧1 = 𝑢2 𝑧1- 2gh

∴ u’z1 = √𝑢2 𝑧1 − 2𝑔ℎ

𝑢′ 𝑧1 √𝑢2 𝑧1−2𝑔ℎ
tan θ = 𝑢𝜋
= 4𝜋

Substituting the corresponding values of uz1 and Uπ for the optimum velocity in the above;
2
(ℎ+√𝑟2 +ℎ2 )√𝑔
√ −2𝑔ℎ
[4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4
tanθ = 𝜋√𝑔
[4(𝑟2 +ℎ2 )]1⁄4

√[ℎ+√(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )]2 𝑔−2𝑔ℎ√4(𝑟 2 +ℎ2 )

tanθ = 𝜋√𝑔
 √ℎ 2 +𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 −2ℎ√𝑟 2 +ℎ 2
tanθ = 𝑟

√(√𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 −ℎ)2
tanθ = 𝑟

√𝑟 2 +ℎ2 −ℎ
tanθ = 𝑟

5 25
The constraint is sinθ ≥ 9 ⇒ sin2 θ ≥ 81
𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃
Now, tan2 θ = 1−𝑠𝑖𝑛2𝜃

𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃
⇒ = sin2 θ
1+𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃

25
Under the constant sin2 θ ≥ 81

𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃 25
⇒
1+𝑡𝑎𝑛2 𝜃
≥ 81

⇒ 81 tan2 θ ≥ 25 tan2 θ + 25
⇒ 56 tan2 θ ≥ 25

25
⇒ tan2 θ ≥ 56

√𝑟 2 +ℎ2 −ℎ
It is found that tan θ = 𝑟

√𝑟 2 +ℎ 2 −ℎ 2 25
⇒( 𝑟
) ≥ 56

⇒ 56[𝑟 2 + ℎ2 + ℎ2 − 2ℎ√𝑟 2 + ℎ2 ] ≥ 25 𝑟 2
⇒31𝑟 2 + 112ℎ2 − 112ℎ√𝑟 2 + ℎ2 ≥ 0

Solving the above inequality using an online mathematics engine:

www.wolframalpha.com , the solution to this is :

20√14
r≥ 31
+ℎ ⇒ r ≥ 2.41h

5
So the constraint i.e. sin θ ≥9 dictates that: r ≥ 2.41h
So, the complete result for the most optimised shot is:
• Minimum initial velocity :

umin= √𝑔[𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + ℎ2 + ℎ]

• Corresponding angle of projection:

 ℎ+√𝑥 2 +𝑦2 +ℎ2
β= tan-1 ( 𝑥 2 +𝑦 2
)

Under the condition:

r ≥ 2.41h , where r = √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2

Table 1.0: Values for umin and β have been calculated and tabulated for h=1 and different values of
r = √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 , |x| ∊ [0, 7.5] and |y| ∊ [5, 20]

x y umin (optimising velocity) β(angle of projection)

1 5 7.87 50.55

2 7 8.63 48.91

3 9 9.82 48.00

4 11 10.88 61.71

5 13 11.86 47.05

6 15 12.76 46.77

7 20 14.59 46.35

Graph 1.0: Plots for β for h=1 and r ∊ [2.41, 20]

REFLECTION: It is quite interesting to note the following:

If angle of elevation of the hoop from point of projection is
ψ
ℎ
⇒ tan ψ =
𝑟

Also, it is found that optimum angle of projection

ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ2
β = tan-1 𝑟
ℎ+√𝑟 2 +ℎ2
⇒ tan β = 𝑟

ℎ ℎ2
⇒ tan β = + √ +1
𝑟 𝑟2
⇒ tan β = tan ψ + sin ψ
figure 1.9

1+𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜓/2+𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓 /2+2𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2

⇒ tan β = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠2 𝜓−𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜓/2

(𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2+𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2)2
⇒ tan β = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2+𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2)(𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2−𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2+𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜓/2−𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜓/2

1+𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜓/2 𝜓
⇒ tan β = 1−𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜓/2 (on dividing the RHS by cos 2 )

𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜋/4+𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜓/2
⇒ tan β = 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜋/4−𝑡𝑎𝑛𝜓/2

𝜋 𝜓
⇒ tan β = tan (4 + 2 )

𝜋 𝜓
⇒ β = 4+ 2

RESULT: There is a relationship between the optimum angle of projection and the angle of eleva-
ℎ
tion. Now, the angle of elevation is tan ψ = 𝑟 , and the constraint is r ≥ 2.41h
1
⇒ tan ψ ≤ 2.41

⇒ ψ ≤ 22.5°

𝜋 𝜓
As β = 4 + 2

⇒ β ≤ 45° + 11.25°

⇒ β ≤ 56° (Approx)

Similarly,

umin = √𝑔[√𝑟 2 + ℎ2 + ℎ]
 𝑔ℎ[𝑟 2 +ℎ2 ]
= √ + 1
ℎ

= √𝑔ℎ(𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑐𝜓 + 1)
∴ umin and angle of elevation also have a relationship-

LIMITATION AND FURTHER SCOPE

The obtained results for the optimised shot, i.e. the optimum velocity and the angle of projec-
tion have been evaluated under ideal assumptions like negligible air resistance, but in the actual
scenario the air resistance changes the result. Similarly, the spinning of the ball is also neglected
in the exploration, which if taken, further changes the result.

The present exploration does give a very reasonable start towards scope of incorporating further
set of parameters and arrive at more sound results. The results are not restricted to basketball
and in general not even to other sports activities, but can even be the base of a robust analytical
tool to be used in the areas where the projectiles and different trajectories desiring optimised ef-
forts are the inseparable parts of.

CONCLUSION
This exploration for the evaluation of optimised speed or in other words optimised effort,
rightly points towards opening up new avenues for the strategies to be employed while working
in a team. Such evaluation not only gives the technical experts wider area of visualisation of the
court management but also it leverages the optimisation of physical energy to achieve better re-
sults. As does the result specifically put restrictions on the angle of projection to turn the effort
into a goal, its quite worthwhile to use the results obtained theoretically to avoid the inadvertent
misses committed by the team members.

As discussed in the reflection section, about the relationship between the angle of projection of
the ball and angle of elevation of the hoop, though mathematically speaking the relationship
points towards the same result but in different perspectives. The angle of elevation is the physi-
cal quantity that catches attention of the player to connect well with the location of the hoop in-
stead of the coordinates of the location of throw of the ball. The results obtained have really
given a new boost to my curiosity to explore further about the analysis tools developed to dis-
sect each and every move of the player and to correct and consolidate the right efforts to
achieve better results.
Bibliography

I. I0.wp.com. (n.d.). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at:
https://i0.wp.com/sportscourt.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/FIBA_court.jpg [Ac-
cessed 30 Jan. 2018].

II. FIBA.basketball. (n.d.). FIBA.basketball. [online] Available at: http://www.fiba.basketball/cen-

tral-board [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].

III. Wolframalpha.com. (n.d.). Wolfram|Alpha: Making the world’s knowledge computable.

[online] Available at: https://www.wolframalpha.com [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].