Triathlon and Fitness
Triathlon and Fitness printable worksheet
The triathlon is a sport which consists of three consecutive races, a swim, a bike race and finally a long run.
Adam, Ben and Charles all want to qualify for the Olympic triathlon.
Here are their results from a trial race:
|
Swimming 1500m |
Cycling 40km |
Running 10km |
TOTAL |
|
|
Adam |
19:12 |
1:04:33 |
32:13 |
1:55:58 |
|
Ben |
21:19 |
1:05:28 |
31:54 |
1:58:41 |
|
Charles |
22:31 |
1:03:22 |
30:12 |
1:56:05 |
Which athlete do you think burned the most calories?
Adam, Ben and Charles weigh approximately 70kg each
It is estimated that athletes of this weight burn energy at the following rates:
- Swimming at 4.5km/h burns 600 kcal per hour
- Cycling at 30km/h burns 900 kcal per hour
- Running at 15km/h burns 1100 kcal per hour
Assuming that the rate at which calories are burned is directly proportional to the athletes' speed, estimate how many calories each of the three athletes burned during his race.
Are you surprised?
How can you explain your results?
Do you think the modelling assumptions are valid?
Though several versions of the triathlon exist, in the Olympic Games, the athletes swim for 1500 meters, then cycle for 40 km and finally run for a further 10 km. As you can imagine, the athletes who compete for the triathlon must have high endurance in order to be able to complete all three races.
You may also like
Rule of Three
If it takes four men one day to build a wall, how long does it take 60,000 men to build a similar wall?
How Big?
If the sides of the triangle in the diagram are 3, 4 and 5, what is the area of the shaded square?