Final answer:
A coach demonstrating how to inbound a basketball represents a practical application of physics in sports. The player intuitively uses principles of physics such as force and trajectory to throw the ball, even though they may not consciously calculate these as a physicist would.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a coach is demonstrating to a player how to inbound a basketball from the sideline, what is taking place is a practical application of physics in sports. The motion of throwing the ball, guiding it to a teammate, and ensuring it does not get intercepted involves intuitive knowledge of angles, speed, and trajectory.
While the player may not explicitly calculate physics equations, their skill and practice embody the principles of physics to achieve the desired result.
The argument that a scientist's formula involving the weights, speeds, and bounce-pass kinetics is an unrealistic description of how basketball is played misses the point.
The reality that a player can accurately throw the ball due to practice and skill does not invalidate the physics behind it; rather, it just means that players have internalized these physics principles through experience.
For example, in a drill, a player and their partner can practice bounce passes by standing a few meters apart. As the partner bounces the ball, the motion observed is a combination of gravity, force applied by the player, and the ball's elasticity, each factor contributing to the ball's behavior in a quantifiable way.