Question

During the support phase of running, if the vertical ground reaction force applied to a runner was 1,009 N. Runner's mass is 77 kg., What would be the vertical acceleration of the center of mass

Answer 1

To calculate the vertical acceleration of the center of mass, we can use Newton’s second law of motion, which states that the net force acting on an object is equal to its mass multiplied by its acceleration. In this case, the net force is the vertical ground reaction force.

The formula for calculating acceleration is:

acceleration = net force / mass

Given that the vertical ground reaction force applied to the runner is 1,009 N and the runner’s mass is 77 kg, we can substitute these values into the formula:

acceleration = 1,009 N / 77 kg

acceleration ≈ 13.10 m/s²

Therefore, the vertical acceleration of the center of mass would be approximately 13.10 m/s².