Olympic Spirit

 Topic(s):

Algebra- Linear Functions

Images/Video Resources

Scenario

The exact origins of the Games are shrouded in myth and legend but records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. A simple foot race marked the early Olympic games, but over the centuries the games became numerous and complicated. Upcoming 2012 London Olympics will be held in London. It will become the first city to stage the Olympics three times. Games of the XXX Olympiad are the official name of Summer Olympics 2012. There are 26 sports and approximately 17,000 athletes participated, representing 200 countries.

Task

Sample Investigations/Teacher Resources

You have been hired in the local newspaper as a sports writer. Your first assignment is to write an article comparing men's and women's times in a timed Olympic event. Your article needs to include the following information:

1. a brief history of the event including the names of participants
2. the winning times for men and women in the same timed event
3. graphs of the times over the years for the event
4. a prediction for whether the men's and women's time will be approximately the same.

Be creative. Add some additional important information, or even pictures to your newspaper article.

You will create your article storyboard using Stixy for the Editor to approve it.

Linear function projects: http://www.ehow.com/way_5640511_linear-functions-math-projects.html

Scatterplot project: http://www.nashua.edu/downingc/scatter_plot_project.htm 

Making predictions using algebra: http://www.ehow.com/how_7384164_use-data-make-predictions-algebra.html 

Student Resources

Rubrics

Google Custom Search

USA Olympic team: http://www.teamusa.org/

London 2012: http://www.london2012.com/

Olympics official site: http://www.olympic.org/

Olympics database: http://www.databaseolympics.com/ 

Stixy tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pggOxPWhSM 

Stixy webpage: http://www.stixy.com/

http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/index.shtml

http://www.nashua.edu/downingc/scatter_plot_project.htm

Student Work

Standards

1. List your personal understanding, ideas or hunches.

 With your team use all the information available in the scenario to list everything that you know about the Olympic games. You do not have to conduct any research yet. Just use the information given and write the facts that you already know about the Olympic games.

With your team, make a list about what you do not know and would like to learn. List all the questions you will need to answer to solve the problem.  
   

5. List what needs to be done.
"What should we do?" List actions to be taken, e.g., question an expert, conduct research, go to a board meeting about topic. List possible actions.

6. Develop a problem statement.

You will be responsible for thinking and choosing one of the questions to solve the problem.  A problem statement should come from your analysis of what you know. In one or two sentences, you should be able to describe what it is that your group is trying to solve, produce, respond to, or find out. The problem statement may have to be revised as new information is discovered and brought to bear on the situation.

Use all the resources available (Internet, library, etc) to research about the problem/topic and find a solution.

8. Present Findings

You will present the storyboard of your newspaper article using Stixy.

(1)  Foundations for functions. The student understands that a function represents a dependence of one quantity on another and can be described in a variety of ways. The student is expected to:

(A)  describe independent and dependent quantities in functional relationships;

(B)  gather and record data and use data sets to determine functional relationships between quantities;

(C)  describe functional relationships for given problem situations and write equations or inequalities to answer questions arising from the situations;

(D)  represent relationships among quantities using concrete models, tables, graphs, diagrams, verbal descriptions, equations, and inequalities; and

(E)  interpret and make decisions, predictions, and critical judgments from functional relationships.

(2)  Foundations for functions. The student uses the properties and attributes of functions. The student is expected to:

(A)  identify and sketch the general forms of linear (y = x) and quadratic (y = x²) parent functions;

(B)  identify mathematical domains and ranges and determine reasonable domain and range values for given situations, both continuous and discrete;

(C)  interpret situations in terms of given graphs or creates situations that fit given graphs; and

(D)  collect and organize data, make and interpret scatterplots (including recognizing positive, negative, or no correlation for data approximating linear situations), and model, predict, and make decisions and critical judgments in problem situations.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games

http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/mediterranean/olympicgames.html

http://www.olympic-2012-london.co.uk/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccDFpoF5tZw

http://chickensoupforyoursoul.blogspot.mx/2008/02/olympic-rings.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wz-W1nQO8w&feature=fvwrel

http://pblchecklist.4teachers.org/index.shtml 

Math and Sports by Cristina Pintor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.