Friday, February 12, 2010

4th & 5th grades - The science of the Olympic Winter Games!

The Olympic Winter Games run during our February/Mid-winter break. They start on February 12th and go until the closing ceremony on February 28th.

Below are a few videos about how some Olympians compete in their sports.
(for more videos check out the website Science of the Olympic Winter Games)

Choose one of the videos to watch. After you watch it post a comment about what you learned. Is it a sport you might want to try? Does seeing the video make it easier to understand how the athletes do it? Has your idea of the Olympics and the athletes changed since watching the video?

These are a few questions to get you thinking. Pick a video, watch it, and post a comment on your thoughts related to what you saw, heard, and learned...

Acrobatic ski jumping:


Hockey:


The science of Snowboarding:


Figure Skating:


Watch one of the videos here, or feel free to go to the Science of the Olympic Winter Games website to check out some of the others. Make sure to post your thoughts about the video you watched when you are done.

Please respond in full and complete sentences, paragraph form - double check your work before posting your comment. Once you post your comment Mr. Casal will be notified and he will grade and approve your post. Your comment will not appear on the blog until Mr. Casal has read and approved it.

Have a great week off Watch the Olympics and have fun!

Remember - Comment as "Name/URL" and use your first name and last initial (proper capitalization, no URL)- please respond in full and complete sentences - double check your work before posting your comment.

84 comments:

Ranen Eisheh said...

I watched the video called Acrobatic Ski Jumping.I thought it was kind of cool how they jumped up into the air and made a flip.I wonder how those people can hold their selves up in the air and make a flip.

Nermin Eisheh said...

I watched a video called Acrobatic Ski jumping.I liked the part when Emily cook jumped and made a flip in the air.I also liked when she spined around.

Wiktoria R. said...

I learned that in order to increase your speed when you figure skate you do Angular Momentum.Angular Momentum ditermines how high you will jump.

Mr. Casal said...

Ranen, Nermin,
The long downhill run the skier takes before hitting the ramp, and the speed that provides, is what allows them to get high enough to do their twists and turns.

Nicolas Crepeau said...

I watched the hockey one it is really intresting how much force and energy goes into the slapshot.

Brian M. said...

I learned that a skier could go to 45 miles per hour. And I also learned that a skier could control his fast movement by a move call movement of interia. It was inspired by the cats.

Christian Gonzalez said...

From the video The Science of Snowboarding I learned the snowboarders use a little bit of science and math.

Nancy Flores said...

Nancy Flores
I saw figure skating and I learned that in order to speed fast you have to put your hands out then put the arms in and thats how you fast in figure skating.It looks hard but its really beautiful and i would like to do this sport i like it

Alexis, Rojo, said...

I saw the Acrobatic ski jumping video. I learned that when your jumping in the air the way your body is in it can effect your jump. They even had to go down a hill at about 40 MPH. Even the higher you go the more twists and turns you might do. I even liked the part when the showed the cat falling and scientist think that cats mostly land on there feet and when Emily did the trick like a cat.

Hernan A. said...

I watched a vidio called Acrobatic Ski Jumping.I liked how they compared the falling cat with how you land in the olympics. Also I liked it when I saw all the flips in the air.

Barbara Garcia said...

I learned, when you go figure skateing an you want to increase a spin you scimply bring your arms closer to your cheast. Also when you hit the floor after a spin it is very hard tring not to fall over.

Michael V. said...

I watched The Science of Snowboarding. What I learned from the video is that in snowboarding they are three forms of energy. They are... Gravity, Potential Energy and Kinetic Energy. I would love to be a snowboarder because it looks really fun and really active. So you can get a good fit out of that. The 2010 Winter Olympic Snowboarder's make it look really easy, but I bet you it is a bit hard.It looks so much fun I think I will go out on a mountain covered with snow and go snowboarding after that video!!

Andrew Villafane said...

I learned that when you snowboard,you have to really consentrate and focus.If you pratice everyday for 2 hours,you're going to be a pro snowboarder

Ileeanna T. said...

I saw the ice skating video.I would love to try it.It looked like fun.I learned that when you are on skates, to decrease you speed,you just need to spread out your arms.To increase your speed,tuck in your arms.That was something I did not know about ice skating.

Adam A. said...

I watched the video about figure skating. It was very interesting how they used physics to skate. Figure skating seems very difficult, and a bit dangerous. I think figure skating requires more practice than most other sports.
By the way, I wonder why they go faster with their arms pulled in.

Natasha C. said...

I watched the video about figure skating.I learned that angular momentum determines how fast you rotate in the air, and it is generated by pushing off the ice with your foot.I had no idea that if you tuck in your arms you will go faster. I remember seeing the pairs skate. They also tucked in their arms when they spun faster.

Flora.F. said...

I watched the video about figuer skating,and by watchinng this video I learned that angular momentum determines how fast you rotate in the air,and it's generated by pushing of the ice with your foot.

Emily C. said...

I watched the Acrobatic Ski Jumping video and what I thought was really cool was that the lady Emily Cook's most comfortable position was being upside down and I thought that was very crazy because my most comfortable position is being right side up is my and alot of peoples most comfortable position. What I learned from the video was that when you swing your left arm forward and you swing your right arm back you almost automatically turn left and face another position!!!!

Anonymous said...

jahaira c.said....
I watched the video of science of snowboarding.what I learned from the snowboarding there are 3 forms of energy.Iwould love to be a snowboarder because it looks fun.I would love to ride a snowboarder but by watching it,it looks fun but if I was there I would be scared because it is to high.

Garrett B said...

I watched the video about snowboarding.I learned that in order to snowboard the snowboarders would have to know the rules of air dynamic and gravity or they wouldn't be succesful snowboarders.I also liked when that man did the experiment with the half pipe,and the glass of water.I wonder how it would feel to be a Winter Olympic Snowboarder?

Kelly Y. said...

I watched the video about figure skating. I learned how momentum helps figure skaters rotate in the air. A figure skater named Rachel Flatt
pushes off the ice with her foot to do jumps and spins in the air. Figure skaters tuck their arms in closer to go faster and make their arms spread out farther to go slower while turning. I think the figure skaters look truly amazing on ice.

Ariel M. Vera said...

I liked how it told about atheletes in the olympics like Emily crooke. The narrator said she was great in physics,the reason she is so good at ski jumping.I learned once they jump and do there twist they cant change it. And obviouslly I was watching ski jumping.

Raven W. said...

In the Science of Snowboarding video, I learned that when you snowboard you have to use a lot of focus, gravity, speed and balance.I like how the man,Paul Dorty, shows you an example of how the snowboarder has to focus on balancing the snowboard. I think one day being a snowboarder might be something I would like to try. In videos snowboarding looks really easy, but after watching this video I realized that it is actually a challenge.

Kenju G.said... said...

I watched the video on ice skating.It was cool watching it.I noticed that a lot of people fell when the men through them.I think that they should have more balance.I would like to ice skate like that too.I liked the part when the Russians played.What amazed me was that a Japanese woman became a Russian citizen just to compete in the Olympics.Every one was competitive!I wonder how it is like to be thrown in the air on a slippery ground!

Kenju G.said... said...

I watched a video on figure skating.I did not know it was that much practice for the Olympics.Rachel practiced early in the morning.Then went to school. After that she went straight to ice skating.I was amazed.I would be to lazy to wake up.But I wish I can skate like that.I like how she jumped so high up in the air and spun .I did not know that if you extend your arms you get slower.

Mr. Casal said...

Excellent work everyone.

For those of you who watched the ski and snowbaord videos, did you see the Olympics? Seth Wescott, and American, won the Gold medal in the Snowboard Cross event. Bode Miller, also and American, won the Bronze in the Downhill Skiing event. I haven't seen the acrobatic or half-pipe events yet.

For those of you that are interested in learning to ski and snowboard here are some links that might interest you:
http://www.parentsknow.com/newarticle.cfm?colid=20180
http://thunderridgeski.com/thunder-ridge-mountain-information/about-thunder-ridge-ski-resort.html
http://www.belleayre.com/winter/package.htm

Ece Yurt said...

I watched the figure skating video. I would like to try figure skating because I think it’s full of wonder and I like to see people skate and do cool tricks so that makes me want to try skating one day. I think figure skating is one of the most entertaining events in the Olympic Games. I learned that skaters create angular momentum by pushing off the ice with their foot. Pushing off the ice also creates vertical velocity which will help skaters get high enough to do the spins. I also learned that skaters increase and decrease their speed by spreading out their arms and tucking them in. When skater’s first start to spin with arms extended, they rotate slowly. When they pull their arms in closer and closer, skaters start to rotate faster.

Brandon Flores said...

Brandon .F...said

I watched the video of ice hocky.It is interesting how much force goes to the slapshot.

Brandy said...

From: Michael Johnson in Class 5-404.
I watched the video about "Air Lift Ski Jump" I would like to try this sport one day because it is a very interesting sport I could learn alot. Seeing this video do make it easy to understand how the Athletes do it, it explains how to position your body to do different movements and gliding through the air. My idea did changed because there's alot to it, it kind of seems like an easy sport but it really is a difficult sport. There's alot of consintration, and you have to stay focus and still. I also learned that in the old school about 20 years ago when the athletes would glide through the air they would position themselves in a parallel angle and underneth because it was considered stylish. But now in the days they learned that when they are gliding through the air they would have to position themselves in a V shape formation because it brought them 30% more lift in the air.

Pancake,Panchita Lopez-Li said...

I watched figure skating.I loved it!
I learned that if you extend your arms,you get slower.One time,when I went figure skating,I fell on my rear end!I would like to learn how to figure skate.It looks HARD!

Natasha R. said...

I watched a video about figure skating. I never knew that professional figure skaters practiced so much! Watching the video gave me more respect for my favorite sport. I never realized how challenging it is to skate professionally. They make it look so easy! I am a figure skater and I guess I should have known how hard it is to skate professionally because even the things I do now are challenging sometimes.

Jonathon V said...

Snowbording is a Sport i dont want to try becouse i dont have a very good balance.
By watching the video the athletes make it look very easy but i know that its very hard, It takes alot of hard work and training.
Now that ive seen the video ive learned that its alot harder than what it looks like.
My idea has changed towrds the olympics and the althletes.

Naima Mamataz said...

I watched the video on Figure Skating and found the real reasons of why and how they spin faster and use forces to support it. This is a sport I would love to try because eventhough it looks hard, practicing like Rachael would become easy. Seeing the video, makes it much easier of knowing how figure skaters do it. For Example Rachael used leg force and ice force to lift her self up and used the law of conservation of angular momentum for spinning faster and movements with her hands. Vertical velocity also helps the skater push off the ice to get really high. My ideas of the Olympics and athletes have changed because they look more focused and competitive about what they do. I loved how Rachael did some amazing tricks and eventhough its hard, it was amazing!

Brandon said...

Brandon Steele said...

I thought snowboarding was easy but it contains a lot of speed,gravity and force.And that scientist made a model of how it works.One day it will be in the science fair.To win you need to know those four important words for any future snowboarder.

Matthew Ruiz said...

I watched the video, The science of Snowboarding. I learned that there is a lot of force, speed, and balance when your snowboarding. Another thing I learned was that the snowboarder can "pump" their legs up and down so they can go faster, do higher jumps, and more amazing tricks to earn more points. The last thing I learned was that the half-pipe was the highest one ever, which rose 22 feet high!

Jade said...

I watched Acrobatic ski jumping and I learn that ski jumping is jumping on faith in the law of physics. By moving your hands,and twisting 50 feet in the air.

kenthony garcia said...

I learned that snowboarders use some of science and math.

Luis G. said...

The snowboarders use balance so they do not fall. The faster they go the higher they go, the more points they get. They use the potential energy to go higher. I learned that it takes very hard work to learn how to snowboard.

saim said...

I learned that snowboards use a half pipe also I learned that snowboards jump up and down to get speed.

Ashley Acosta said...

I like how they keep themselves balance and how much science goes into a spin. Example, to increase your speed you bring your arm close to your body, and to decrease your speed you bring your arm out.

Samantha M said...

I watched figure skating. I loved it. I learned that when skaters use angular momentum they move faster when they are doing there tricks. I have tryed skating it is not as easy as it looks.I love the sport and hope to be like them someday.

Mr. Casal said...

Emily Cook, the Acrobatic aerial ski jumper, is currently in 3rd place after her 1st jump.

There are a lot of Olympic ski events on NBC today.

And for those of you who watched the figure skating video, the American Evan Lysacek won the Gold medal in his event.

Great comments everyone. Glad to see my students taking this assignment seriously.

Naima, excellent comment!

DereckR said...

Dereck Ramos said:
I watched the video of The Science of Snowboardig. The video explains a little bit about how important it is for the athlete to have balance. In the future i would like to do snowboarding, it looks so much fun, I would like to take the risk bouncing my way on a snow board.

Elijah jerry said...

Elijah Jerry
I watched acrobatic ski jumping.I thought it was very cool.I learned from the video that it is very hard to do acrobatic ski jumping.What I want to know is how the skaters in the air and how they flip in the air.

ANDREA.D said...

After watching the video I learned than when the figure skater is trying a spin she must start with her arms out wide and then pull them in to increase speed.I like to ice skate but I don't know if I'm ready to try spinning that fast. It looks way too hard on the ice but I tried spinning that way in my computer chair, and it worked! I can't wait to watch more of the Olympics especially my favorite ...speed skating. Go Apollo Ono!!!!USA...USA!!

Unknown said...

Sah-kiel A.
I watched the snowboarding video . I learned that snowboarding takes a lot of work. The snow boarders make it look easy but, its like almost defying gravity. It's g-force and kinetic energy that help or hurt the snowboarder. That's where skill comes in to play. I think I would like to try snow boarding.

Unknown said...

Jordy L.
I watched the snowboarding video .I learned that snowboarders have to use lots of balance to stay on the board when they jump. I want to ride on a snowboard one day,and be in the winter Olympic games.

Tommy S. said...

Tommy S.
I watched the snowboard video. I learned so much about snowboarding that I don't think it is easy anymore. The people who do this must have done a lot of practice. I have played this on my video games but, it seems a lot cooler in real life. I might do snowboarding when I grow up.

Adriana Guzman said...

I watched the Figure Skating video and I learned that Angular Momentum determines how fast you are going in order to be able to rotate in the air. When you bring your arms in close to your body you will spin very fast. Ice Skating is the only sport I like so maybe one day I will try it. Watching this video did help me understand how they moved to do there jumps & spin in the air. My ideas of the Olympics have changed because I am able to understand how hard you need to work in order to get your moves correctly and not hurt your self.

Malcolm W. said...

I learned that when you snowboard you have a lot more energy when you hit the snow on your way back down. Also that to gain speed you have to pump your legs a lot.

Lissette S. said...

I watched the figure skating video and I liked it when Rachel jumped and did the diagnol twist and landed and continued skating. It was icredible and it makes me wonder how many years of practice it took her to perfect that move. Ice skaters like Rachel make ice skating seem so easy but theres alot of science behind it all. I learned the angular momentum determines how fast the figure skater is going; this happens when Rachel pushes off the ground with her foot giving her vertical velocity which will allow her to jump higher.

John A. said...

I watched science of snowboarding video. The athletes in this video make the sport look easy but i am sure it is difficult to control the snowboard. the snowboarders looked like they were having fun.

Jaylynn S said...

I thought it was very interesting the way the skater made it look so easy. She was able to jump really high in the air and spin a lot. The skater is able to use speed to build momentum and spin faster in the air. Also, the camera that they used allowed the people to see every part of the skater's jump. I think that camera would be really great for practicing jumps.

Abdelrahman Osman said...

I liked the acrobatic ski jumping. I liked how they showed us some tricks and how they told us the names of the tricks. I learned how the "cat twist" works. In the video they made it look easy to do. I would like to try acrobatic ski jumping myself.

Larry G. said...

I watched the snowboarding video i thought it was awesome. I learned that it is very hard for snowboarders because they have to focus and they have to balance at the same time. When I grow up i want to become a famous snowboarder like Shawn White!

Adiana G. said...

I liked acrobatic ski jumping the most. It looks like a lot of fun to fly through the air that way. After watching the video, it seems a lot more difficult because any movement can affect how you jump. Like how they said that even lifting one arm will make you turn.

Abdul Farhad said...

I watched the video on Hockey and it was amazing. I learned many variety vocabulary and how the puck goes into the net with such force. The action of hitting the puck is Slapshot and to hit the puck, potential energy is needed because of the stick force and body force. This sport seems so cool that i would love to try it. This video made me think how easier it was for hockey players to hit the puck into the net with max velocity and bendings from the stick. My ideas of athletes have changed in a way that, athletes use forces to play their best in olympics sport. I love Hockey and would love to try it, seems very cool!

Lin Mousa said...

Lin Mousa said...

I was amazed when I watched the video Acrobatic Ski Jumping I was amazed.I liked when a ski jumper made a flip followed by a twist.Emily Cook said your pushing off of the ground is what is causing the twist.I think that the tricks they did aren't easy at all and that it took alot of hard work to be able to do the tricks like a professional.

Zachariah D said...

I watched the video on snow boarding and it was awsome!I learned many things about snowboarding that I never knew before.For instantsi learned that gravity helps you go higher into the air and stay into the air longer periods of time. when you come down it's really hrd to land your trick because of the weight of you the snowboard goes downwards and most likely you will fall.i also learned that when your in a tough spot and everyone is counting on you to win it's really hard to consentrate on what you are doing.I would like to try out snowboarding and all the other winter olympics sports some day.It looks very relaxing and cool when your not competing of course.sihning of for today Zachariah D.

Aric O. said...

I never knew how much power is needed to pull of stunts like that.I bet that you have to practice a whole lot to make the stunt perfect.When they push of the ground they do a 90 degree turn and it causes them to spin.I will not ski because I think its dangerous,they land at the second and sometimes there are close calls.

Anonymous said...

the science of hockey is the video i watched. it talked about how you can hit the puck with such momentum only if you bring stick in the right position and physics is used alot.it talks about bringing the hockey stick where the puck is and making a wrist shot so the puck can stay forward while spinning in the air.
--anthony rodriguez

Luca L. said...

I watched the video on snowboarding it was awsome. I learned that when a snowboarder goes up in the air he/she loses kinetic energy and when they're high in the air they have so much potential energy. A snowboarder has to have a center of balace at all times. It was much like what the scientest did in the video. Also the snowboarders have to pump there legs to gain speed.

Anonymous said...

Jeffery D.
I watched the snowboarding video it great. I was great learning how the athletes train. They give you a good instructions of how you have to do it. It takes a lot of hard work. The athletes take their sport very seriously. I will like to try this sport when I get older.

Jaeda Aviles said...

i like how the person that was snowboarding made it look sooooooooooo easy but if i was to try that i would crack my head open on the first try and bust my lip

Maliha.I said...

I WATCHED FIGURE SKATING.THE SKATERS MADE IT LOOK SO EASY! BUT I LEARNED THAT WHEN THE SKATERS SPIN AROUND ON THE ICE,THEY CROSS THEIR ARMS CLOSE TO THEIR CHEST TO MAKE THEM SPIN FASTER. BUT WHEN THEY SPREAD THEIR ARMS OUT THEY SPIN SLOWER. THATS PROBABLY HOW THY STOP THEMSELVES.

Yodarlin Suriel said...

I watched the video about figure skating. I learned that figure skating is a very difficult sport that involves a lot of muscle work. I would like to try this sport because it seems like a challenge and I like to challenge myself.

tara.p. said...

I watched the figure skating video, it's amazing how they use their arms to go faster or to slow down. I went ice skating last winter and could not even stand up on the skates.

Saria Saleh said...

I watched figure skating and I think im going to try it when I grow up.I went ice skating and I was good I fell like 4 times and got better everytime.It's amazing how your arms help you go fast or slow.

daniel D.V said...

i wached hokey it looks cool how you could hit the puck and itll go right into the net i might play it when i am big

Jonah L. said...

I watched the snowboarding and it looked pretty intense. They used gravity and other kinds of energy to go as fast and high as they could to do the tricks on the half pipe.

Deandra C. said...

1.I learned that when your a figure skater they use a speical camera so you can see all of your spins and where your arms were.
2.I would want to try it, but i dont know how to skate.
3.I did enjoy the video because I love to watch people skate.

Amanda T. said...

I watched the figure skating video. I thought that it was very interesting and had a lot of science involved. I learned that Angular Momentum determines how fast the skater will be able to rotate during a jump. I also learned that Vertical Velocity controls how high a jump is. It is created when the skater's leg pushes down on the ice which creates force, then the ice creates force that pushes the skater up into the air.

Brandon Bautista said...

In snowboarding there must be a lot of focus, gravity, speed and balance.Paul Dorty, shows you an example of how the snowboarder has to focus on balancing the snowboard which was a unique lesson. I would like to try snowboarding someday. In videos snowboarding looks really easy, but after watching this video I realized that it is actually a challenge.

Jasmin C. said... said...

what i learned was that when you spread out her arms and that makes her slow down. What i learned more about how she want fast was when she tucked in her arms. That was the things that i learned and i will love to try to do figure skating.

Ty C said...

I learned that snowboarding is more complicated than I thought. For example, when you think about kinetic and potential energy, it seems very complicated. How does potential energy get converted to kinetic energy? How are kinetic and potential energy related to gravity?

Snowboarding looks really fun, so I think I would want to try it. I haven't yet tried skiing, but maybe I'll try snowboarding first.

When I think about kinetic and potential energy, it makes me think how hard it must be for the Olympic athletes to think out their tricks.

Alan H. said...

1)Hockey is a sport I may want to try hockey looks fun and easy.
2)Looking at the video it made it easier for me to understand the sport of hockey because they really explained the sport well.
3)The idea of the olympics has changed since I saw the olympics.

Jose P. said...

Jose Perez

I saw the snowboarding clip and I thought it was amazing. I learned that a snowboarders potential energy turns to kinetic energy.

Samuel R. said...

I learned that in the half-pipe, when the Olympian snowboarders go really fast, they are either pumping their legs or have a really high kinetic energy. The sport seems really cool and I would like to try the sport. I have no change of mind of snowboarders. They are still super-cool!!

Laurette Ginter said...

I loved the how they told me what a torque was because I'm almost a professional skier. I did not know what it was. Also i did not know how snowboards kept there balance but i learned how, i love to snowboard as well.

TYLER O said...

TYLER O
I think hockey is an awesome sport.You have two teams going against each other in full force just to strike the puck into the goal.And for the most part its all done on skates on ice.

Anonymous said...

In 1996,Columbia landed on Earth after 17days,ending the longest space mission in history. In 1981, columbia was the first space shuttle to travel into space. I think THAT FIGURE SKATING IS VERY DANGREAUSE YOU have to be talented and now what your doing to be a figurer stater when i went skating I saw ome one figure stkating it was amazing to me.

TRINITY said...

i think that figure skating is a very hard thing you have to be talented to do the corect thing. When i went iceskating I saw someone figure skating.It takes a lot of practice and ca be dangrouse.

Anonymous said...

Ahmad R.

I think hocky is a good sport. You have two teams going against each other both trying to get the puck into the goal.The video was mostly about hiting the puck by bringing the stick to the right position and the science of phisics.

Max F. said...

I thought it was amazing. The tricks were cool and the physics can make you do amazing stuff. One time my mom told me about this experiment where a guy was swinging a bucket of water and when it made a full rotation no water came out.