Sport Collection

Here is a nice collection of NRICH activities related to sport, ideal for the English sporty summer of 2012.

You can also find lots of lovely activities on the sport.maths.org pages.

Remember that our stages roughly refer to the English Key Stages in which the mathematical content is likely to be found and the number of stars indicate how difficult is is likely to be to get into the problem. All our problems are likely to contain enough depth to satisfy the most enthusiastic problem solvers!

problem

10 Olympic starters

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

10 intriguing starters related to the mechanics of sport.

problem

Alternative record book

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

In which Olympic event does a human travel fastest? Decide which events to include in your Alternative Record Book.

problem

Angle of shot

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

At what angle should you release the shot to break Olympic records?

problem

Any win for tennis?

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

What are your chances of winning a game of tennis?

$Can you do \it too?$

problem

Can you do it too?

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Try some throwing activities and see whether you can throw something as far as the Olympic hammer or discus throwers.

problem

Climbing complexity

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

In the 2020 Olympic Games, sport climbing was introduced for the first time, and something very interesting happened with the scoring system. Can you find out what was interesting about it?

problem

Climbing conundrum

Age

7 to 14

Challenge level

Five children are taking part in a climbing competition with three parts, where their score for each part will be multiplied together. Can you see how the leaderboard will change depending on what happens in the final climb of the competition?

problem

David and Goliath

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

Does weight confer an advantage to shot putters?

article

Decathlon: the art of scoring points

How do decisions about scoring affect who wins a combined event such as the decathlon?

problem

Fa cup

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

In four years 2001 to 2004 Arsenal have been drawn against Chelsea in the FA cup and have beaten Chelsea every time. What was the probability of this? Lots of fractions in the calculations!

problem

Going for gold

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Looking at the Olympic Medal table, can you see how the data is organised? Could the results be presented differently to give another nation the top place?

problem

Half time

Age

5 to 11

Challenge level

What could the half time scores have been in these Olympic hockey matches?

article

High jumping

How high can a high jumper jump? How can a high jumper jump higher without jumping higher? Read on...

problem

Light weights

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

See how the weight of weights varies across the globe.

$\Little little g$

problem

Little little g

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

See how little g and your weight varies around the world. Did this variation help Bob Beamon to long-jumping succes in 1968?

problem

Match the matches

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Decide which charts and graphs represent the number of goals two football teams scored in fifteen matches.

article

May the best person win

How can people be divided into groups fairly for events in the Paralympics, for school sports days, or for subject sets?

problem

Medal muddle

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

Countries from across the world competed in a sports tournament. Can you devise an efficient strategy to work out the order in which they finished?

problem

National flags

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

This problem explores the shapes and symmetries in some national flags.

problem

Now and then

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Have a look at the results for some events at past Olympic Games. Can you use these to predict the results at the next Olympics?

problem

Nutrition and cycling

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Andy wants to cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats. Will he be able to eat enough to keep him going?

problem

Olympic logic

Age

11 to 16

Challenge level

Can you use your powers of logic and deduction to work out the missing information in these sporty situations?

problem

Olympic measures

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

These Olympic quantities have been jumbled up! Can you put them back together again?

problem

Olympic records

Age

11 to 14

Challenge level

Can you deduce which Olympic athletics events are represented by the graphs?

problem

Olympic rings

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Can you design your own version of the Olympic rings, using interlocking squares instead of circles?

problem

Olympic starters

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

Look at some of the results from the Olympic Games in the past. How do you compare if you try some similar activities?

problem

Olympic triathlon

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Is it the fastest swimmer, the fastest runner or the fastest cyclist who wins the Olympic Triathlon?

problem

Olympic turns

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

This task looks at the different turns involved in different Olympic sports as a way of exploring the mathematics of turns and angles.

problem

Opening patterns

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Look at some of the patterns in the Olympic Opening ceremonies and see what shapes you can spot.

article

Performing beyond expectations - using sport to motivate students in mathematics lessons

In this article, Alan Parr shares his experiences of the motivating effect sport can have on the learning of mathematics.

article

Playing squash

Playing squash involves lots of mathematics. This article explores the mathematics of a squash match and how a knowledge of probability could influence the choices you make.

problem

Pole vaulting

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Consider the mechanics of pole vaulting

list

Secondary sport collection

Age

11 to 18

This is our secondary collection of favourite mathematics and sport materials.

problem

Speed-time problems at the Olympics

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to race against Usain Bolt?

problem

Sports equipment

Age

7 to 11

Challenge level

If these balls are put on a line with each ball touching the one in front and the one behind, which arrangement makes the shortest line of balls?

problem

Squash

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

If the score is 8-8 do I have more chance of winning if the winner is the first to reach 9 points or the first to reach 10 points?

problem

Stadium sightline

Age

14 to 18

Challenge level

How would you design the tiering of seats in a stadium so that all spectators have a good view?

problem

The animals' sports day

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

One day, five small animals in my garden had a sports day. Who do you think won each race?

problem

The fastest cyclist

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Andy is desperate to reach John o'Groats first. Can you devise a winning race plan?

problem

The games' medals

Age

5 to 7

Challenge level

Can you see who the gold medal winner is? What about the silver medal winner and the bronze medal winner?

$The Olympic \LOGO$

problem

The Olympic LOGO

Age

16 to 18

Challenge level

Can you use LOGO to draw a logo?

problem

The Olympic torch tour

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Imagine you had to plan the tour for the Olympic Torch. Is there an efficient way of choosing the shortest possible route?

article

Tournament scheduling

Scheduling games is a little more challenging than one might desire. Here are some tournament formats that sport schedulers use.

problem

Track design

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

Where should runners start the 200m race so that they have all run the same distance by the finish?

problem

Training schedule

Age

14 to 16

Challenge level

The heptathlon is an athletics competition consisting of 7 events. Can you make sense of the scoring system in order to advise a heptathlete on the best way to reach her target?