Evolution of Sports
The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:
· Mathematical Practices—You will make sense of problems and solve them.
· STEM—You will apply mathematical tools and knowledge to analyze real-world situations.
· 21st Century Skills—You will employ online tools for research and analysis and independently raise questions and pursue leads.
Directions
Please save this document to your desktop. Type your answers directly in this document for all activities.
______
Self-Checked Activities
Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. Click the link to the Student Answer Sheet at the end of the lesson. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your own work.
1. Understanding Heat Index
On August 1, 2001, Korey Stringer died from heat stroke while playing professional football. Stringer was participating in outdoor practice during a training camp in southern Minnesota. In light of Stringer’s death, and others like it, sports organizations at all levels have raised their awareness about preventing heat-related illness.
Study the heat stress risks for the game of football, which are based on outdoor temperature and humidity. Coaches who use this line graph to plan practices and games can determine at a glance whether players will wear helmets, pads, and long pants or shorts. Use the line graph and its legend to answer the questions that follow. You might find it helpful to view the graph at 75 percent of its original size as you work through the questions.
a. A football team is practicing outdoors in June. It is 5:00 p.m., the relative humidity is 60 percent, and the day is partly cloudy. What is the maximum temperature at which the team is allowed to practice in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts?
Sample answer:
The team can practice in helmets, shoulder pads, and shorts if the temperature is 87ºF or lower.
b. A football team is practicing outdoors in October. The temperature is 86ºF, and the relative humidity is 40 percent. It is noon, and the day is bright and sunny. What is the maximum amount of equipment that the players are allowed to wear? List the equipment by name. What is the minimum frequency of breaks that the players must be granted to drink fluids?
Sample answer:
Players can wear full pads, football pants, and helmets. Players should break every 30 minutes for fluids.
c. A football team is practicing outdoors in August. The temperature is 94ºF, and the relative humidity is 80 percent. What steps must the coach take to prevent heat-related illness in his players on this day?
Sample answer:
Practice should be canceled or moved indoors to an air-conditioned space.
d. A football team is practicing outdoors at 9:00 a.m. on September 5. It is sunny, and the relative humidity is 50 percent. Within what temperature range must the players practice in shorts only?
Sample answer:
If the temperature ranges from 92ºF to 100ºF, the football team must practice in shorts. Helmets, pads, and long pants are not allowed under these conditions.
e. A football team is practicing outdoors in June. The temperature is 85ºF, and the relative humidity is 60 percent. It is 2:00 p.m., and the day is bright and sunny. What is the maximum amount of equipment that the players are allowed to wear? List the equipment by name. What is the minimum frequency of breaks that the players must be granted to drink fluids?
Sample answer:
Players can wear shorts only. Helmets, pads, and long pants are not allowed. Players should break every 20 minutes for fluids.
2. Concussion Training
A concussion is a brain injury caused by a hit to the head that changes the typical functioning of the brain. A forceful hit to the body may also cause a concussion. In recent years, people participating in sports organizations at all levels have paid closer attention to the signs and symptoms of concussions in players.
Doctors can use X-ray and CAT scan machines to diagnose brain injury in athletes. However, long before doctors get involved, coaches, players, and parents are trained on what signs to watch for regarding concussions. Coaches can take this quiz to check their understanding of concussions.
a. Take the coaches’ quiz on concussions. Write the letter of the correct answer for questions 1 through 11 in the table. Since you have only a basic knowledge of concussions, treat the quiz as a pretest. It’s OK if you are unsure of the answer to a question. Highlight the question. You will investigate the correct answer later.
Sample answer:
Question / Answer / Question / Answer1 / A / 7 / C
2 / C / 8 / B
3 / B / 9 / C
4 / A / 10 / B
5 / C / 11 / C
6 / A
b. Review any answers that you highlighted in part a. Then do some research on concussions and mild traumatic brain injury. Based on your research, you may change your answers in part a, if you wish. What new ideas have you learned regarding the prevention of concussions that you didn’t know before? Include at least two new ideas.
Sample answer:
I learned that people can sustain a concussion in any kind of sport or physical activity. The sport doesn’t have to be organized. People can get concussions in everyday life. I learned that if a person has already had a concussion, then they are more likely to have another one than someone who hasn’t had any concussions.
3. Advancements in Sports Apparel
Through the years, technology has improved the design of sports apparel and sports equipment. These improvements have resulted in higher levels of protection and performance for athletes. Olympic athletes are some of the key beneficiaries of this new technology. Watch this video on the science of the Olympic Winter Games to learn how competition suits are shaving fractions of seconds from Olympic time trials. Then answer these questions.
a. Which type of force is the one of the greatest enemies of athletes in the Olympic Winter Games? In what other situations does this force exist outside of the world of sports? Write a paragraph that is about 100 words long.
Sample answer:
Drag, or atmospheric resistance, is one of the greatest enemies of athletes in the Olympic Winter Games. Drag is a kind of friction that opposes athletes' movements through the air and slows them down. However, drag doesn't just affect athletes; it acts on any object moving through the air. I’ve noticed the effects of drag on cars. Newer cars with aerodynamically shaped fronts are less affected by drag than older cars with large, flat fronts. An aerodynamic shape reduces the drag by curving the air around the body of the car. The same principle applies to other vehicles too. For motorbikes, airplanes, and even ships, engineers try to design a shape that will keep drag at a minimum.
b. Explain two ways in which scientific ideas or scientific equipment have helped athletes gain a competitive edge in the Olympic Winter Games. Write a paragraph that is about 100 words long.
Sample answer:
The Olympic Winter Games have become so competitive that athletes are using science to gain whatever advantage they can, even if it’s just a few milliseconds. Speed suits use special polymers that are designed to be strong and elastic. These polymers are made by joining long chains of simple chemical units called monomers. Because they are elastic, speed suits cling to the skin, giving athletes higher speed. Skiers, for example, use skintight spandex suits designed to eliminate any extra drag. Helmets and skis are also scientifically designed to enhance performance. They use a light but strong material called Kevlar. Athletes try to reduce drag in many other ways, such as covering their hair and skin, fusing the seams in their clothing, and wearing special dimpled clothing.
c. Intuition might tell us that rough surfaces on clothing would inhibit the speed of an Olympic athlete. Why is this line of thinking not true in some cases? How can controlled roughness actually promote speed? Write a paragraph that is about 100 words long.
Sample answer:
People might think that clothing with rough surfaces slows down movement because the rough parts trap air. That's not always the case. By controlling the amount of roughness, it’s possible to allow air to pass more easily over the fabric. The shape of a golf ball is based on this idea: the dimples on its surface make the air spin in small circles, like mini vortexes. These spinning circles of air act like ball bearings in a machine. The overall effect is that the ball can move more easily through the air, so it flies a greater distance. In the same way, the grooves on athletes' clothing also allow smoother movement through the air.
d. Imagine you are an Olympic speed skater. Explain which kinds of clothes you should wear to increase your speed. Other than air resistance on clothing, what other forces are working against your speed? What are some ideas for reducing these other forces? Write a paragraph that is about 100 words long.
Sample answer:
As a speed skater, I’d want to wear skintight, light material, ideally made of polymers like spandex. I would want the clothing to have dimples to help me gain speed. I would want to ensure that my hands and my long hair are covered. Apart from air resistance, there is friction between the skates and the ice, which reduces the speed at which I skate. I’d want to adjust the angle of the blade to maximize my speed—maybe a sharper blade would help me go faster. The material of the blade can also make a difference, so I'd want to invest in better-quality blades that are designed to minimize resistance.
e. Olympic ski jumping suits are designed like kites. They are tailored to catch air that can help lift the skier higher into the atmosphere. Why do the suits still appear tight to the skiers’ bodies and not more expansive, like a kite? Explain your thinking. Write a paragraph that is about 100 words long.
Sample answer:
The design of a ski jumping suit involves a trade-off between giving the skiers lift to get higher jumps and ensuring the skier does not face a lot of drag before the jump itself. An expansive suit may help to lift the skier higher, but at the same time, it will also increase the air resistance. Higher air resistance as the skier goes down the slope limits the speed of the jump. A big suit also increases the risk of losing balance or control, especially if there's a strong gust of wind. While technologically enhanced suits help a lot, clothing is not the only factor in a ski jumper’s success. Gathering speed while skiing down the slope, ensuring good speed on the ramp, and maintaining good body posture and form in the air all contribute to a ski jumper's success.
2