Evolution of Sports
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.
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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How did you do? Check a box below.
Nailed It!—I included all of the same ideas as the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Halfway There—I included most of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Not Great—I did not include any of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
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.
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Question / Answer / Question / Answer1 / 7
2 / 8
3 / 9
4 / 10
5 / 11
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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.
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How did you do? Check a box below.
Nailed It!—I included all of the same ideas as the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Halfway There—I included most of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Not Great—I did not include any of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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How did you do? Check a box below.
Nailed It!—I included all of the same ideas as the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Halfway There—I included most of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
Not Great—I did not include any of the ideas in the model response on the Student Answer Sheet.
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