# A stationary football is kicked by a player. Explain, using Newton's laws, why the ball accelerates when kicked and what happens to the player's foot as a result of kicking the ball.

> OCR GCSE Physics A: Gateway Science (J249) — P2.2 Newton's laws · Explain · 4 marks

> A footballer places a ball on the ground before taking a free kick. Before the kick, both the ball and the player's foot are stationary.

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. Before the kick, the ball is stationary because the resultant force on it is zero (Newton's First Law)
2. The kick applies a resultant force to the ball, causing it to accelerate (Newton's Second Law)
3. The ball exerts an equal and opposite force back on the player's foot (Newton's Third Law)
4. The foot and ball are different objects / the Newton's Third Law forces act on different objects so they do not cancel out

## Key terms

- [accelerate](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/accelerate)

## Related

- [Revision notes for OCR GCSE Physics A: Gateway Science (J249)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/learn)
- [How to answer "Explain" questions](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/tools/command-word-cheatsheet)
- [Practice this with AI marking (free)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/start)

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Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/a-stationary-football-is-kicked-by-e1ce2281) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.