The long-awaited summer Olympics are here, and the whole world is cheering on the teams and their elite athletes. As an educator, we’re sure you’re eager to find new ways for your math students to practice their skills in a way that is relevant to their lives and their grade level. Using the Olympic games as a backdrop provides a multitude of discussions on how math is applied in real-life scenarios. Read on to learn how math is a critical component of Olympic events and enjoy the free resources included at the end of this blog post.

Math is Integral to Olympic Games, Training & Performance

When students work with math, they often ask, “When am I going to use this in real life?” Well, in the case of nutrition and fitness, math is an integral part of almost every area. Mathematical formulas abound, beginning with simple calculations like body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, nutritional macros, and target heart rate. It can become as complicated as the critical power (CP) formula, which is used for high-intensity exercise to determine power output and how long that level can be sustained, and the Banister impulse-response (IR) model, which monitors performance as it relates to training. Even a graph theory is used to schedule multiple events, such as tournaments.

And when math is combined with technology, even more opportunities exist for collecting and analyzing data for athletic performance. In preparation for the summer Olympics, golfers use video technology to study their swing, using geometry to calculate the angle of the club path, club-head speed, ball speed and launch angle, and the total distance and dispersion of each shot. Track and field athletes can also use video to study the angle of their legs and combine that with information on speed and force, even going as far as using an electromyography sensor to measure energy from muscles. Runners use math to focus and calculate their pace for optimal results; gymnasts develop their routines to maximize scoring possibilities based on learning the algorithm used to score performances; soccer players use geometry to calculate locations on the field for best goal-scoring opportunities. Math exists in almost every aspect of athletic performance and Olympic sport, whether subconsciously or not.

Studying the Summer Olympics in Your Classroom

While the traditional school year may be on hiatus for the summer, your students won’t want to miss the opportunity to play and celebrate the summer games while sharpening their mathematics knowledge. Here are a few ways your students can participate in observing the games as they learn.

Interactive Games

Set up your own math Olympics by engaging your students in familiar Olympic games with a math twist. For example, ask your students to line up on a starting line and race a few yards to a designated checkpoint. The first students to reach the checkpoint get an opportunity to answer a math fact question. Students with the correct answer get to race to the next checkpoint and the first student to the finish line wins gold. Or, play a game of basketball where baskets don’t count for points unless the students correctly answer a math question. Don’t forget to award your mathletes with medals!

Focus on the Math

Challenge your students to look for the mathematic applications in each event they observe. Use the examples mentioned earlier in this post as a starting point. If a particular application piques their interest, encourage them to explore the topic further by completing a research paper or presentation.

Keep Score

After reviewing the rules of the game, try hiding the score on your television with a sticky note and encourage your students to keep the score as they watch. At the end of the event, check their work and see if they calculated correctly.

Word Problems

Use our printable PDF to practice word problems with an Olympics theme or ask your students to get creative and write their own based on their favorite game or team.

Printable Olympic Math Activities

In honor of the Summer Olympics, we’ve developed a fun way to practice skills at various levels using popular competition events in the Summer Games. Our free PDF includes math problems for your whole class, small group, or individual student to complete and will let your spectator practice their math skills while getting into the Olympic spirit. Enter your information below to have the PDF emailed to you.