Schottenbauer Publishing

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Real Ice Skating Data from Child Double Runner Skates!

Easy access to the science of ice skating is provided by several book series from Schottenbauer Publishing! Books contain graphs, data, and diagrams of ice skating, figure skating, and hockey.

The graphs below are excerpted from Volume 1 of Glide, Spin, & Jump: The Science of Ice Skating, as well as a free pamphlet from the publisher. These graphs show a child's double-runner skate being pulled along a piece of real ice with a force meter, while position, velocity, and acceleration are measured by a motion detector from the back.






Discussion Questions

  1. For each graph, describe the motion of the skate in words. 
  2. How far does the skate travel in each graph?
  3. What is the maximum force on the skate?
  4. Is the force on the skate similar to the forces incurred during real skating?
  5. From these two graphs, can you determine the mass of the skate?
  6. How much physical work is occurs during the movement of the skate? 
  7. In which graph is the friction greater?
  8. Can the friction be calculated from these graphs?
  9. How accurate are these graphs? What is the margin of error, if any?
  10. Are these graphs relevant for real skaters? If so, how? 

Additional free graphs are available in a free pamphlet from the publisher's webpage. 

The following books from Schottenbauer Publishing contain similar types of graphs and data pertaining to the science of ice skating, figure skating, and hockey:

Graphs & Data for Science Lab: Multi-Volume Series
  • The Science of Ice Skating, Vol. 1-8
  • The Science of Hockey, Vol. 1-3
Anthologies of 28 Graphs
    • The Science of Figure Skating
    • The Science of Ice Hockey
    • The Science of Winter Olympic Sports

    In addition, the following books are suitable for younger children learning geometry:

    • The Geometry of Figure Skating
    • The Geometry of Winter Olympic Sports