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Measurement Conversions

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Original Olympic Sports

Boxing

Equestrian events

Chariot racing
Riding

Pankration

Pentathlon

Discuss
Javelin
Jump
Running
Wrestling

Running

Stadion
Dolichos
Diaulos

Wrestling

See http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/ or http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/olympics/olympicintro.shtml for an explanation of these sports.

Modern Summer Olympics

Aquatics, which includes

Swimming
Diving
Synchronized swim
Water polo

Archery

Athletics (track and field)

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Canoe/Kayak

Cycling

Equestrian

Fencing

Football (soccer)

Gymnastics

Hockey

Handball

Judo

Modern Pentathlon

Shoot
Fence
Swim
Show jumping
Run

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Softball

Table Tennis

Taekwondo

Tennis

Triathlon

Volleyball

Weightlifting

Wrestling (modern and Greco-roman)

For an explanation of the modern games, go to http://www.olympic.org/uk/index2_uk.asp. This site also includes an explanation of the winter games.

For a visual demonstration of the different sports, go to http://www.athens2004.com/ and click on “Olympic Sports” to see educational animations.

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Mathematical Conversions
Weight, Distance, and Time

Different countries use different systems of measurement. In the United States, we commonly use what is known as the English system, where length is measured in inches, feet, and miles. However, the metric system is commonly used in most other countries, including Canada. The metric system uses the base ten system to convert between measurements. Its measurements include the centimeter, meter, and kilometer. In mass (or weight, as it is sometimes called), the metric system uses the gram and kilogram. The English system uses the pound frequently. When people from differing countries come together (in cases such as the Olympics or the International Space Station), it is important that they are able to communicate about distances, masses (or weights) and other types of measurements, whether they commonly use the metric or the English system. The following examples are mostly from the Olympic games in Athens in 2004. The games in Athens were measured in the metric system.

To help with these conversions, look at http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt/dictunit/dictunit.htm , http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/ , or Conversions to convert from metric to English, or English to metric. It may be necessary to read through the page and click on links offered. Remember that there are three feet in one yard, sixty seconds in one minute, and sixty minutes in one hour.

If you would like, print off a worksheet to have workspace as you work through these problems. This worksheet is in Adobe PDF format. Go here to get a free download of Adobe Reader.

1. Polites of Keramos won the stadion, the dialous, and the dolichos in 69 A.D. The stadion is considered to be 600 feet long. How long is that in meters?

2. The marathon was not an event in the original games, even though the event was based off the run made between two city-states to tell of a victory. The modern marathon is 26.2 miles. What is that distance in feet?

3. How long is 26.2 miles in meters?

4. How long is 26.2 miles in kilometers?

5. The winner of the men's marathon during the Olympic games in Athens, Greece is Stefan Baldini from Italy. His time is approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes. What is that time in minutes?

6. The Clean and Jerk champion during the 2004 games in Athens is Reza Zadeh from Iran. He lifted 263.5 kilograms. How many pounds did he lift?

7. The winning shot put throw was 66.96 feet. Irina Korzhanenko from Russia putted the shot put during the 2004 games in Athens how many meters?

8. The cyclists bike 73.81 miles during the road race.   How many meters did gold medalist Sara Carrigan from Australia bike during the 2004 games to win?

9. The triathlon involves running 10 kilometers, swimming 1500 meters, and biking 40 kilometers. The winner in Athens is Austrian Kate Allen. Her time is 2 hours, 4 minutes and 50 seconds. How many seconds is that?

10. How many kilometers (combined) did Kate run, swim, and bike?

11. How many miles (combined) did Kate run, swim, and bike?

12. How many yards is the 1000-meter swim?

13. The diving tower height is 8 meters. How many feet is that?

14. The winning hammer throw in 2004 is by Olga Kuzenkova of Russia.   She threw the hammer 246.13 feet. How many meters is that throw?

15. Dwight Phillips of the United States of America won the long jump in Athens with a jump of 8.59 meters. How many feet is that jump?

16. The flatwater kayaking course is 500 meters long.   How many feet is the course in which the competitors must kayak?

17. The winning female kayaker in the 2004 games is from Hungary. Natasa Janics won in 1:47 minutes. How many seconds is that?

18. The winning javelin throw for the Athens games was 278.31 feet by Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway. How many meters was that throw?

19. The pole vault is an event wherein competitors use a large, flexible pole to jump up over a bar. The person who jumps the highest without knocking the bar off is the winner. The winning jump at the Athens games was by Yelena Isibayeva of Russia. She jumped 4.91 meters high.   How high was her jump in feet?

20. The discus was won by Natalia Sadova of Russia during the 2004 Olympics. She threw the discus 67.02 meters.   How far is that in feet?

Question: Why is it important to understand the metric system? Pretty much everything in the U.S. is done in the English system, so is it really important to even learn about it? Think about this idea, and be prepared to convince your teammates that it is imperative to learn the metric system. Hint: base 10 conversions are easier to learn than switching from 12 inches in a foot, 16 ounces in a pound, and so on.

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Now you get to go out and do some measuring of your own! Take a ruler or measuring stick that has both metric and English system units. You may do this either individually or with a partner. You must measure at least 10 items around the classroom or school. You will measure these items in both them metric system and in the English system. Make sure to use the highest degree of accuracy that the ruler/measuring stick allows (1/16th of an inch, 1/10 of a centimeter). Mark the fraction AND decimal measurements on your sheet. Print off a sheet here in PDF format. Are there any connections between the fractions? Are there any connections between the decimals? Why do you think that is so?

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