Mathematics - Calculating Speed

Subject(s): Mathematics | Age: 11-14 | Type: Activity sheet | Publication Year: 2010 to date

Using the F1 in schools curriculum resource students will need to to apply their knowledge of speed, time and distance to calculate the speed of an F1 car using real race data. Students are presented with a circuit map of Monaco showing speeds in mph and Kph, the gear used and target times at different points on the circuit. They also have access to overall results giving race and qualifying times.

From these results students will be able to plot graphs of the speeds of the different drivers including average speed both during qualifying and the race as well as analysing the data using statistical tools, such as mean, median and range to compare drivers’ speeds and discovering whether Lewis Hamilton had a higher average speed over the entire race or in qualifying.

This session also encourages students to remember the distance, speed, time formula through the "Are we there yet?" activity and to use calculators and spreadsheets to aid their calculations.

URL: http://stem.org.uk/rx45t

HEALTH and SAFETY
Any use of a resource that includes a practical activity must include a risk assessment. Please note that collections may contain ARCHIVE resources, which were developed at a much earlier date. Since that time there have been significant changes in the rules and guidance affecting laboratory practical work. Further information is provided in our Health and Safety guidance.

Files

Review

Calculating Speed

Posted by Mark_Heslop on 12th April 2011

Activity time: 50 minutes but “Are we there yet?” activity done previous lesson. This lesson based around…

Activity time: 50 minutes but “Are we there yet?” activity done previous lesson. This lesson based around Monaco Grand Prix PDF.

Level / prior knowledge: Year 9 Mathematics Level 6/7 who had been introduced to speed, distance, time formula the previous lesson.

Subject / curriculum links / skills: Speed/Distance/Time: Maths and Physics KS3 and KS4.

Preparation time: 30 minutes. Photocopying resources, finding accompanying video from youtube and creating accompanying slides.

Extra resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs8fVxSG-es (optional). I showed last 3 minutes of this video at the beginning of the lesson to set the scene.
Commentary: Mixed enjoyment from the class. Some really enjoyed it and were particularly enthused after seeing the video at the beginning. Others asked, “Why are we doing this?” I set them off without much guidance as I wanted them to work independently. All completed activity 1 but some struggled until I brought the class in and we calculated everything for the first two drivers as a class. Most then completed some of activity 2. Only some completed all of this and then answered the questions afterwards. Important to note that all the necessary distance information is on page 1 of the PDF and many learners will think that when “+19.2s” is written as a driver’s time, this is how far they are behind the driver in front when it is actually how far they are behind the winner.