Why I chose this topic
I chose this topic because hockey has been my favourite sport for almost my whole life so I wanted to learn the physics behind a hockey shot. I also thought that maybe I could uncover something that I could keep in mind to make my shot better. It was interesting for me to discover that flex is much more important for a hockey shot than I would have thought. I used to think that most of the power just comes from your stick pushing against the puck but now I know that a big majority of the power comes from the elastic force the stick gains when a player flexes the stick.
Core Competencies
I demonstrated communication by clearly explaining the physics behind hockey shots using visuals, examples, and formulas. I broke down complex ideas like kinetic energy, flex, and momentum into simple steps so they were easy to understand. I also used a real life video to show how the stick flexes which helped visually communicate what I was talking about.
I showed creative thinking by connecting physics concepts to something I care about hockey. I showed creative thinking by using comparisons like a hockey stick being like a bow and arrow to explain flex and elastic energy. I also came up with my own examples and numbers to show how the math works.