Introduction
Most people are familiar with sports rules and terminology; however, they are not always aware of the important role that math plays in sports. A myriad of data on players, teams, divisions and leagues is provided by the media and the sports world. You have been selected to explore the numerous connections between math and sports.
Task
You are probably familiar with professional sports and stay abreast of scores and standing for your favorite teams. In each webquest below, you will engage in web-based inquiry to answer the questions presented and to perform the tasks required. These tasks will require a computer, access to the web, graph paper (see the math resources below), paper, pencil and a ruler. Access to a printer is helpful, but not required. Links are included for each quest to help you explore. In addition, there are links to sports and math resources at the bottom of this page. It's time to "play ball!"
Process
Part I: Batting Average The following tasks may require some of the sports resources listed near the bottom of this page. Try our Lessons on Decimals, then do the following: What is a batting average? How is a batting average calculated? Calculate the batting averages for the following players. PLAYER AT-BATS HITS BATTING AVERAGE Ken Griffey, Jr 600 173 Sammy Sosa 625 180 Tony Gwynn 411 139 Order the batting averages in tem 3 from least to greatest. Compute the batting averages for 25 players in the 2008 season. Find historical player stats for 20 baseball players from the 2009 season. Compute the batting average for each player. Create a table for your results. How does a batting average measure a player's performance? Part II: Earned Run Average What is an Earned Run Average? How is an ERA calculated? Gather pitching stats for Earned Runs (ER) and Number of Innings Pitched (IP). Calculate the ERA for each pitcher. Create a table for your results. How does an earned run average measure a pitcher's performance?
Evaluation
Print or save tables, graphs and other data you gathered in these webquests. Discuss your findings with a classmate or family member, and a teacher or a sports aficionado. Name three formulas you learned in these webquests. Create five original problems from math and sports. Share your problems on Facebook.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have explored the important role that math plays in the world of sports. These explorations should give you a better understanding of the numerous connections between sports, probability and statistics, and other areas of mathematics.