It's called The Last Great Race on Earth. The Iditarod, a dog-sled race over 1,100 miles of grueling Alaskan terrain, pits man and his dogs against nature.

 Explain what the word Iditarod means.  Write a short history of the Iditarod race.  The Iditarod race starts in ________________ and ends in _________________.  Find out and record the dates for Iditarod 2007  Search for and copy to your project a map of Alaska with the 2007 Iditarod route marked.

 How many mushers are registered in the 2007 Iditarod?  When must the mushers be registered?  How many dogs can be on an official dogsled team?  How much food must you have for each dog on the team during the race?

 What items must the mushers carry on the dogsled at all times?  How many checkpoints are along the Iditarod route?  How many mandatory rest stops must the mushers make along the route? How long is each stop? Why are these rest stops mandatory?  What kinds of food do mushers pack and how do they cook it on the trail?  What are food drops? What do the mushers leave there? Why?

 Explain the Red Lantern award.  Explain the Good Samaritan rule.  Make a list (include pictures) of the wildlife that mushers may encounter during the Iditarod race.  What is the Aurora Borealis? Find an image of the Aurora to enhance your project.  Research the weather that may be encountered on the Iditarod trail.

Range The difference between the highest and the lowest numbers in a set of numbers. Addend One of the numbers to be added. Mean The mean is the average of a set of numbers. To find this, add the numbers and then divide by the number of addends. For example, let's say we want to find the average (mean) for the numbers 2, 12, 8, 3, and 5. There are five different numbers (called addends). If we add them together we get 30. If we then divide 30 by the amount of addends (5) we get 6. The average for the set of numbers is 6. Median The median is the middle number in the set of numbers when the numbers are arranged in order from least to greatest. Let's say we want to find the median of the same set of numbers from the previous example; 2, 12, 8, 3 and 5. First we must order them from least to greatest. Reordered, the numbers of the set are 2, 3, 5, 8 and 12. Then we need to find the middle number. In this case the middle number is 5. So we can say the median is 5. If there are two middle numbers in the set then the median is the mean of the two middle numbers. For example if the set of numbers is 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 then the mode would be 9 because 9 is the mean of the two middle numbers 8 and 10. Mode The mode is the number that occurs most often in a set of numbers. It is sometimes easier to find if we order the numbers from least to greatest. Then we determine which number occurs most often. In the previous example there is no mode because each number occurs once and only once. However, in this set of numbers we do have a number occurring more than once; 2, 4, 12, 8, 3, and 4. In order the set is 2, 3, 4, 4, 8, and 12. Each number occurs once with the exception of the number 4 which occurs twice. So the mode of this set is 4. Find the mean, median and mode for the following sets of numbers: 24, 13, 6, 4, 2, 4, 1 mean= median= mode=

Now it is time to ride the trail. I am going to send you out on the trail to find the mean, median, mode, and range of the distances between checkpoints on the Iditarod Trail.distances between checkpoints Go to the following website to see the distances between checkpoints:

First, you will need the compass directions of the map. The top center of the map is north. The bottom center of the map is south. The center of the left side of the map is west. The center of the right side of the map is east. The top left-hand corner is northwest. The bottom left-hand corner is southwest. The top right-hand corner is northeast. The bottom right-hand corner is southwest. left-hand Make sense? Good. Now answer these questions based on the map:

What direction is Nome from Anchorage "as the crow flies?" ("As the crow flies" is an expression that means in a straight line from point to point) The journey from Takotna to Cripple will take you through what checkpoint? The journey from Kaltag to Unalakleet will take you in which direction? Although the journey from Anchorage to Nome is mostly northwest, there are some parts of the trail that will take a musher northeast. Between which checkpoints on the trail will the mushers head northeast? As you check in at Skwenta, Mt. McKinley is about 50 miles due north of where you are. You then travel the 45 miles to Finger Lake. As you check in at Finger Lake, Mt. McKinley will be in which direction? According to the map, which checkpoint is farthest east? Which consecutive checkpoints appear to be the farthest from each other? Which consecutive checkpoints appear to be closest to each other? Something to think about: How could a compass and a map save a life in the Alaskan wilderness?

A timeline is a visual display of a series of events. We often use timelines because they make it easy to view many events spread out over a period of time. Timelines are simple to make. There are some basic rules to creating a good timeline. How to Make a Timeline Draw a straight line across a long piece of paper. Add events in chronological order. Be sure to make the important events clear and readable! Be creative. Instead of a line, draw a bar, or a wavy line. Add pictures to your timeline. Remember, a timeline is a visual tool and should catch the attention of the person viewing it. Make a timeline about the history of the Iditarod. Include important dates and events.

Newspaper stories answer the following questions:WhoWhatWhenWhereWhy Go to the following website. Read ONE of the articles and answer the 5 W’s for that article:

You will use information found on the current musher data website to make graphs showing the following information: Pie graph – showing gender of mushers Bar graph – showing where mushers’ residencies ( Alaska, Canada, lower 48, other countries, etc) Pie graph – showing experienced mushers, rookie (first time) mushers, and scratched (withdrawn) mushers

What is the prize for the winner of the Iditarod Dogsled Race? What do the other racers receive? Who was Susan Butcher and what was her claim to fame? (Include a photo and a short biography.) Do you think taking part in the Iditarod race someday would be something that would be of interest to you? Why or why not?