Michael Phelps

How many Olympic Games www.learningyou.com.au Year 1: Investigate and describe number patterns formed by skip counting and patterns with objects. Year 3: Describe, continue and create number patterns resulting from performing addition or subtraction. www.learningyou.com.au

Phelps’ Olympic Medal Tally

How far did he swim? Teaching ideas. To simplify choose one Olympics or one event to focus on.

Teaching ideas: Prep and Year 1: Simplify table to be a count of the type of medal won. Create a dot plot or picture graph.

Which stroke was Phelps’ best? Over which distance? Why? Year 6: Compare fractions with related denominators and locate and represent them on a number line. Year 7: Compare fractions using equivalence. Express one quantity as a fraction of another, with and without the use of digital technologies Which stroke was Phelps’ best? Over which distance? Why?

Background reading: Several physical attributes particularly suit Phelps to swimming: his long, thin torso offers low drag; his arms span 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm)—disproportionate to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)—and act as long, propulsive paddles; his relatively short legs lower drag, and perhaps add the speed enhancement of a hydrofoil; his size-14 feet provide the effect of flippers; and his hypermobile ankles can extend beyond the pointe of a ballet dancer, enabling him to whip his feet as if they were fins for maximum thrust through the water.[210] His lungs are nearly twice the size of the average human's, at 12 litres.[211] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps

Michael Phelps’ Physique Background reading: Several physical attributes particularly suit Phelps to swimming: his long, thin torso offers low drag; his arms span 6 feet 7 inches (201 cm)—disproportionate to his height of 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm)—and act as long, propulsive paddles; his relatively short legs lower drag, and perhaps add the speed enhancement of a hydrofoil; his size-14 feet provide the effect of flippers; and his hypermobile ankles can extend beyond the pointe of a ballet dancer, enabling him to whip his feet as if they were fins for maximum thrust through the water.[210] His lungs are nearly twice the size of the average human's, at 12 litres.[211] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Phelps

Body proportions Most adults have the following body part relationship (it may not quite work for those not through adolescence) Height = arm span 7 x foot length = height Foot length = 3 x palm width Palm width = 4 x thumb width. Teaching ideas: For younger children make direct comparisons by measuring height by lying on concrete and using chalk to marks then comparing to arm span etc. Feet, palms and thumbs can be easily compared by outlining foot on paper and then comparing palm and thumb using repeat addition. Older students: Collect data in a spreadsheet – one with formulaes included is available at LearningYou.