What are the forces behind ballistics? Why do rocks and rockets soar through the air in an arch?

The game is on the line. You crouch, you shoot--will the ball go in the basket?

You might think that nailing a three-pointer is just luck, but there are many forces at work that determine if you've made a game-winning shot. Projectile Science: The Physics Behind Kicking a Field Goal and Launching a Rocket with Science Activities for Kids, kids ages 10 to 15 learn why projectiles follow the paths they do. Readers who are fascinated with potato cannons, slingshots, and rocketry will love taking that next step and applying what they learn about the laws of physics to the science of figuring out where to aim. In this book, readers learn about the forces that act on the projectiles and how to calculate those forces to make educated predictions about where their homemade rockets and other projectiles will land.

Essential questions that promote critical examination of the science, primary sources, online videos, and science-minded engineering activities let readers have a blast learning about the physics of ballistics!

Try these hands-on science and engineering projects!

• Perform Galileo's famous test for gravity
• Create clinometers to measure height and distance
• Build a machine that can throw curve balls

Matthew Brenden Wood is a math and science teacher with a passion for STEAM education. He is also an avid amateur astronomer and astrophotographer and the author of The Science of Science Fiction; Planetary Science: Explore New Frontiers; and The Space Race: How the Cold War Put Humans on the Moon. Wood holds a bachelor's degree in astronomy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and lives in Phoenix, Arizona.