Geometry is essential for ice skating. Take a moment to write down a few ways in which geometry affects the precision of the sport. Discussion Questions
What data is necessary to collect in order to understand the role of geometry in figure skating, hockey, and speed skating?
What spatial perspectives and/or mathematical planes are important for precision?
A new video from Schottenbauer Publishing analyzes four spins with graphs. These include three forward spins (centered, centered with step out, and traveling), and a back spin (centered). The video is available on YouTube.
Two graphs from the video are shown below:
Discussion Questions
What body part is most likely traced in the video?
Using a ruler, estimate the center of each spin on its graph.
How many times does the skater revolve in the first graph? In the second graph?
What would a traveling spin look like on a graph?
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:
Acceleration is an important feature of all ice skating. The same as with motion, acceleration can be translational (in a straight line), or rotational (in a circle). If acceleration is rotational, then it is in an axial direction, pointing inward to the center of the circle of motion. This form of acceleration is called centripetal acceleration. Consider the following graph, excerpted from The Science of Ice Skating: Volume 3 from Schottenbauer Publishing. The graph shows acceleration during a figure skating spin.
Discussion Questions
Initially, which direction is vertical or nearly vertical?
At the end, which direction is vertical or nearly vertical?
Describe the relationship between the initial and final angles of the foot in relation to the floor.
Is it possible to identify how many revolutions are present? If so, how many? If not, why?
Is it possible to determine whether this is a slow or fast spin? If so, which is it?
What is the initial velocity? The final velocity?
What is most likely the cause of the spikes in the graph?
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:
