The ball will knock down the pins.  But why? 

Sir Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion can be applied to bowling in different ways.  The first law of motion, the law of inertia, can be used to show how a bowling ball will react when it hits the lane, an oiled strip of nearly frictionless surface.  Newton’s second law, F=ma, describes the force that the bowling ball will exert on the pins when it hits them.  Newton’s third law of motion, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” explains why the ball will knock down the pins.  The ball thrown will apply a force on the pins that will knock down the pins.

These physics can be used to help advance your score to a level above and beyond what was previously possible.  Using the physics presented here, the average bowler will learn to create easier spares to pick up, thus increasing his or her score.  All ideas presented are more or less common sense, and stem from the ideas of elementary physics, using concepts including friction, momentum, and angles.