Math and Science Hockey Activities

Math and Science Hockey Activities Columbus City Schools Companion Lessons

Hockey All Stars Teacher directions: The student packet contains a letter introducing the theme to the students. They are placed in the role of a marketing executive. In this first activity they are interviewing for a job at Stinger Industries. As part of their interview they are asked to show what they know about hockey knowledge by recruiting players for a hockey all stars traveling team. The students have a team roster with the names of the individual players. They are going to use their knowledge of fractions to determine the best players on the team. Instruct the students to rank the players in order with 1 being the best. Optional: Give the students chart paper and have them list 5 players that they would draft for the team and explain in detail how they determined which 5 players to draft. Ask the students several questions like: How many players scored a goal half of the time they shot? What fraction of the players does that represent? (Knowledge/Comprehension) If Pen Alty shot the puck towards the goal 6 more times, how many goals would he have to score to equal the same fraction of goals to shots as Playa Game? (Synthesis) If Flo Zenwater has a total of 15 shots attempted, how many goals will she have to get in order to keep the same fraction of goals to shots attempted? (Application) Which players have the same fraction of goals to shots attempted as Jimmie A. Break? (Analysis) Raven says that Jim Socks is the best player on the team; JJ says that Imada Goal is a better player than Jim Socks. Who do you think is correct? Justify your answer. (Evaluation)

Hockey All Stars Junior League NAME Goals Shots Attempted Hock E. Puck 2 8 Jim Socks 8 24 Rusty Blades 6 12 Flo Zenwater 3 9 S. Kate Er 1 4 Imade A. Goal 4 8 Pen Alty 2 12 Icie Cold 3 18 Playa Game 2 4 Sandy Beach 6 24 Jimmie A. 5 15 Break Nate Shawn Wide 3 24 Fraction of Shots Attempted to Goals

Understanding Hockey Statistics POS: Player position. The possible positions are C (center), LW (left wing), RW (right wing), D (defense) or G (goaltender). #: Player jersey number. GP: Games Played. G: Goals. A goal is awarded to the last player on the scoring team to touch the puck prior to the puck entering the net. PIM: Penalty minutes. GW: Game-winning goals. After the final score has been determined, the goal which leaves the winning team one goal ahead of its opponent is the game-winning goal (example: if Team A beats Team B 4-3, the player scoring the fourth goal for Team A receives credit for the game-winning goal). S: Shots on goal. If a player shoots the puck with the intention of scoring and if that shot would have gone in the net had the goaltender not stopped it, the shot is recorded as a shot on goal. S%: Shooting percentage. Divide the number of goals scored by the number of shots taken. Ask students questions related to the statistics: Some examples include: Look at the players s shots on goal, find the Median, Mode and Range. What does this information tell you? Who would you consider the teams best player? Worst player? Why? Which 5 players would you have in your starting lineup? Why?

Columbus Blue Jackets Player Statistics # POS PLAYER GP G PIM GW S S% 61 R RICK NASH 31 17 10 5 123 13.8 18 L RJ UMBERGER 32 8 26 1 81 9.9 16 C DERICK BRASSARD 32 7 16 2 83 8.4 50 C ANTOINE VERMETTE 32 9 22 1 59 15.3 93 R JAKUB VORACEK 32 5 12 1 66 7.6 71 R CHRIS CLARK 29 5 17 0 53 9.4 3 D MARC METHOT 27 0 16 0 25 0.0 25 C KYLE WILSON 21 4 10 0 30 13.3 6 D ANTON STRALMAN 23 0 12 0 34 0.0 20 L KRISTIAN HUSELIUS 10 6 6 0 25 24.0 97 D ROSTISLAV KLESLA 31 1 18 0 28 3.6 26 C SAMUEL PAHLSSON 32 2 14 0 43 4.7 15 R DEREK DORSETT 30 2 64 0 37 5.4 28 L NIKITA FILATOV 23 0 8 0 31 0.0 22 D MIKE COMMODORE 19 2 39 2 31 6.5 51 D FEDOR TYUTIN 30 1 12 0 44 2.3 35 D JAN HEJDA 30 2 14 0 36 5.6 10 D KRIS RUSSELL 25 2 10 0 27 7.4 19 L ETHAN MOREAU 15 1 14 1 27 3.7 24 C DEREK MACKENZIE 23 2 4 0 25 8.0 40 R JARED BOLL 23 2 91 1 24 8.3 17 C ANDREW MURRAY 12 1 2 0 16 6.3 23 L TOM SESTITO 5 1 26 0 4 25.0 2 D NATE GUENIN 3 0 2 0 2 0.0 12 R MIKE BLUNDEN 1 0 0 0 2 0.0 29 D NICK HOLDEN 5 0 0 0 6 0.0

Game Day Pricing Sheets Teacher directions: Distribute the Game Day Pricing Sheets to every student. Engage the students in a discussion around each pricing sheet. Examples are below: Tickets: Have the students determine the median, mode and range of ticket prices for hockey games. Have the students select a team and determine how much it would cost to get two game tickets, pay for parking and purchase a game program? If every student were to go to the game (4 students per car), about how much would it cost to park? Concession Stand: Pose questions to the students like: How much does a hot dog, popcorn and a drink cost at the game? If you were given $10 to spend at the concession stand, what would you buy? $20? How much would it cost for a family of four to buy pizza, soda, and candy for each family member at the game? Maya bought a hot dog and a pretzel. She paid with a $10 bill, how much change will she get back? Andrea bought two things and paid with a $20 bill, she received $13.25 in change, what two things could she have bought? Leroy wants to buy cotton candy, a personal pizza and a bottle of water; he has $6.00 is it enough? If not, how much more does he need? Team Pro-Shop How much more does a t-shirt cost than a hat? If you bought 2 pucks and a hockey stick, how much change would you get if you paid with a $50 bill?

Pass the Puck Teacher directions: Distribute the Pass the Puck blackline master to every student. Students will create a story problem using at least four items from the Game Day Pricing Sheets on the Puck. When you say Pass the Puck students will exchange papers with a neighbor and solve the problem. Then using at least two items from the previous problem, they will create a new word problem. When you say Pass the Puck students will again exchange papers with a neighbor. The students will now check the first problem, solve the second problem and create a third problem using at least two items from the original problem. Say Pass the Puck one last time and the puck will return to its original owner who will check the first two problems and solve the third problem. Ask for student volunteers to share one problem from their sheet and the strategy they used to solve it.

Pass the Puck Original Word Problem Second Word Problem Third Word Problem

Game Day Pricing Sheet Tickets Team Parking - $10.00 Game Program - $5.00 Avg. Ticket Columbus Blue Jackets $47.46 Detroit Redwings $46.60 Dallas Stars $37.80 Colorado Avalanche $40.62 Los Angeles Kings $47.46 St. Louis Blues $29.94 Chicago Blackhawks $52.22 Anaheim Ducks $43.50 Phoenix Coyotes $37.45 Pittsburgh Penguins $54.45 Boston Bruins $61.40

Game Day Pricing Sheet Concession Stand Item Prices Item Prices Soda $3.75 Pizza Slice $3.50 Water $2.00 Small Personal Pizza $5.25 Hot dog $3.75 Cotton Candy $3.00 Popcorn $3.50 Candy $3.00 Nachos $4.50 Pretzel $3.50 Fries $4.00 Peanuts $3.25

Hat Game Day Pricing Sheet Team Pro-Shop Mini Hockey Stick Hockey T-shirt $19.99 $17.89 $21.79 Player Photo Car Flag Game Puck $14.59 $7.97 $12.99

Power Play Teacher directions: Now that the students have been learning about hockey player stats, they are going to create stats for themselves. Distribute the Power Play game board. To play this game, the students will take on the role of a hockey player. Instruct them to write their name under the column that says Player Name. Remind the students of the following statistics (scoring a goal, getting a shot on goal, and getting a penalty). Explain to the students that they are going to use probability to complete their game board. Have the students fill out their grids (every person in the group should complete a grid) according to the following guidelines: The probability of scoring a goal (G) is ¼. The probability of getting a penalty (P) is ¼. The probability of getting a shot on goal (S) is ½. The students can fill in the grid (anyway they want) as long as they follow the guidelines. Example: 4 S G S P 3 P S G S 2 S P S G 1 G S P S 1 2 3 4 Have students look at their grids and engage them in a discussion around probability. For example: 1. What is the likelihood that you will get a goal or penalty as opposed to a shot on goal? 2. Will the probability of scoring a goal improve the more times I play the game? The students will spin the spinner twice to determine the coordinates. (Students can use a paperclip and a pencil to spin their spinner, by putting the paper clip on the spinner and holding it in place with the pencil. Once they are holding the pencil steady, they can flick the paper clip and where it lands will be their first number. They will repeat to get their second number.) The abbreviation located at the coordinates, indicates the student s stats. For example: Jasmine spins the spinner twice and determines her coordinates to be (1, 4) According the grid that Jasmine made, she had a shot on goal. Jasmine marks the appropriate column on her frequency table. Action Frequency Shots Goals Penalty

To play the game, students will need to get a partner and team up with another pair, so there will be a total of four students (2 per team -they may want to give their team names). All four students will take turns spinning the spinners and locating the coordinates on their individual grids. Remember, each student s grid may be different. They will all have the same probability of getting a shot on goal, goal and penalty, but they may have arranged their grid differently than their classmates.. Students will play this game for a total of 20 turns each. Once the game is over, the students will then organize their data, on the data chart. Action Frequency Shots Goals Penalty Using the data, the students will figure out their own statistics. For example: Player Name Number of Shots on goal Number of Goals Penalty Minutes Fraction of Goals to Shots Jasmine 14 4 2 4/14 = 2/7 After they have filled in their individual statistics, the students will add their data to their partner s data to determine the score of the game. The students can determine their team statistics and create a graphical representation of the data. The students can then compare their individual statistics to that of their team. The students will use the information on their tables to determine which team won the game. For example: Action Frequency Shots Goals Penalty Jasmine s Data Jasmine scored a total of 4 goals. Action Frequency Shots Goals Penalty Jayla s Data Jayla scored a total of 2 goals. Together they scored 6 points. The other team made up of Travis and Tanner scored a total of 5 points. Jasmine and Jayla won the game with a final score of 6 to 5.

Power Play Players Grid Name Directions: Complete the grid according to the guidelines outlined by the teacher. Use the following abbreviations to fill in the grid: Shots on Goal (S) Goals (G) Penalty Minutes (P) 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 Spinner Directions: Spin the spinner twice to get your coordinates. 1 2 3 4 Write your coordinates in this box. (, ) 1. 11. 2. 12. 3. 13. 4. 14. 5. 15. 6. 16. 7. 17. 8. 18. 9. 19. 10. 20.

Name Your Data Name Power Play Data Chart Your Teammate s Data Name Action Frequency Action Frequency Shots Shots Goals Goals Penalty Penalty Individual Player Statistics: Include data for both teams and individual data for all 4 people playing the game Player Name # of Shots on goal # of Goals Penalty Minutes Fraction of Goals to Shots Team Name # of Shots on goal # of Goals Penalty Minutes Player Name # of Shots on goal # of Goals Penalty Minutes Fraction of Goals to Shots Team Name # of Shots on goal # of Goals Penalty Minutes

Power Play Data Chart 1. In the space below create a graphical representation of the data. 2. How do your statistics compare to that of your team? 3. Looking at the data from both teams, who should be the most valuable player of the game? Justify your answer. 4. What are some ways in which this data could be used?

Hockey Probability Distribute the Hockey Rink game board and 6 counters to each student. Instruct the students to place the counters on any five numbers on the Hockey Rink. They may choose a number more than once. Hockey Rink Example: 2 5 9 1 3 6 7 10 12 4 8 11 Explain to the students they will be rolling two number cubes (labeled 1 6) and finding the sum of the two numbers rolled. If they have a counter on that number, they score a point. They will pair up with a classmate (They each play with their own Hockey Rink game board, choosing their own numbers to place counter on.) The students will take turns rolling the number cubes. They may only remove the counter if it lands on their selected number during their roll. After explaining the game, tell students that now that they have more information, they may move any counter to another number, but they must explain WHY they chose to move it (e.g., I am moving my counter to 10 because there are three combinations I can roll to get the sum of 10). Pairs will take turns rolling the cubes until one student has removed all of their counters, therefore scoring 6 points and winning the game. Play several rounds of the game and have students record their scores. On a separate sheet of paper, have students record all possible combinations for each sum. Remind students that order matters. (e.g. 6 + 4 and 4 + 6 should both be listed for 10.) Discuss the results as a group.

Hockey Rink 2 5 9 1 3 6 7 10 12 4 11 8

Hockey and Sir Isaac Newton Teacher Background: Read the article The Science of Hockey from USA Hockey Magazine Ask students to generate a class list of questions about hockey. Accept and record all questions. Discuss how scientists work hard to answer questions to help them better understand the world around them. Ask the students to raise their hands if they have ever ice skated before? Roller Skated? Ridden a skateboard? How do you move forward when you are skating? (You have to push back) Why? (Because every action has an equal and opposite reaction) Why do you swing your arms forward and backward instead of side to side when you are skating? How do you move faster when you are skating? What are other ways that Newton s Laws of Motion are observed in hockey? As a class, we are going to work in groups to discover how Newton s Three Laws of Motion are related to hockey. Have students work together in groups to research Newton s Three Laws of Motion and how they are observed in hockey. Once students have completed their research, they will present what they have learned to the class. They can present through poetry, a posterboard, model, powerpoint, or any other media.

The Science of Hockey Can Understanding Math And Science Make You A Better Hockey Player? By: Harry Thompson David Dziezawiec and Lauren Case check out the weight of a hockey skate at the science lab at the Galileo School of Math and Science in Colorado Springs, Colo. Isaac Newton spent more time in the locker room and less time in the laboratory, it may be a different world we live in today. Lucky for us, old Ike put science ahead of skating, giving us a better understanding of the physical world and how it works. Still, given his understanding of mathematics, physics and the laws of motion, Newton probably would have been a great skater with a dynamite shot. The question is, can today s hockey players take the principles of Newton s laws of motion and apply them to their own game to make them a better player. Laura Stamm believes they can. Stamm traded in the classroom for the hockey rink after her children were born, and has never looked back. One of the foremost authorities on power skating, Stamm still applies many of the same principles she drew on the blackboard to teach players of all ages and skill levels how

to become better skaters. Only now she finds her students to be more eager to soak in the knowledge. Everything that I talk about in skating has to do with angles, angulations and centrifugal force. It all conforms to the laws of physics, says Stamm, who has written several books on the subject of power skating. I often talk physics to the high school age kids when I teach them because they understand it. How do you go forward? You have to push back. Why? Because every action has an equal and opposite reaction. That s Newton s Third Law of Motion in action on the ice. everywhere in the sport of ice hockey. Science and mathematics are vital parts of our daily lives. Nowhere is that more evident than at the rink. From the ice we skate on, to the equipment we use, to the techniques we use to propel ourselves or the puck around the rink, science and math are So, can the same stuff that makes you yawn in class help you become a better hockey player? Joe Bertagna thinks so. A goaltender growing up in Arlington, Mass., Bertagna played his college hockey at Harvard University in the 1970s, one of the top academic institutions in the country, with a pretty good hockey team to boot. At one time I thought life was divided into work and play. Work were the things you didn t want to do and play were the things that you

wanted to do. As a career I ve combined work and play so what I do for work is play, says Bertagna, now commissioner of Hockey East. I think as a student you can do the same thing. If you don t look at it as work and look at it as what can I get out of this or how can I apply it to what I want to do when I m not in the classroom, it makes the day go by quicker and makes your life more complete. Skating When it comes to being a good skater, understanding physics and the underlying mechanics can help coaches and players improve their skating technique. It s easy to say to a kid, why do you think you have to swing your arms forward and backward instead of side to side? The harder you throw your free arm back, the harder it s going to throw your motion forward, says Stamm. When I explain it that way, then they get it. They know that for every action there s an equal and opposite reaction. There s Newton s Third Law popping up again at the rink. Stamm talks about the angle of the body, the angle of the skate blade, the angle of the knee bend. When I talk about crossovers, they understand why you have to counter-lean your upper body to your lower body, otherwise you ll fall. It s all physics, says Stamm. They totally understand it. Making them do it correctly is another thing.

Shooting Bernie Boom Boom Geoffrion is credited with inventing it in the 1950s; Bobby Hull popularized it in the 1960s; and Al Iafrate took it to new heights in the 1990s. We re talking about the slapshot, the most feared weapon in a sniper s arsenal. Do you know what gives your slapshot that extra oomph? If you did, you might be able to improve the speed of your shot. A good slapshot is mostly technique that comes from the power brought on by weight transfer. The weight of a player transfers from his legs up through his core, up to his shoulders, down his arms and into the stick in his hands. Using the proper technique, a player hits the ice just behind the puck, which causes the stick to bow. When it comes into contact with the puck, the energy stored in the bowed stick is released into the puck. The overall motion of the shooter combined with the stick snapping back into place releases energy into the puck. A slight snap of the wrists at the end of the motion allows the puck to spin, which allows the puck to sail through the air in a stable trajectory, helping the shot s accuracy. It s all part of Newton s First Law of Motion. Any object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Goaltending Bertagna has been coaching goalies for 36 years. He knows there is more to stopping pucks than quick reflexes. Any discussion he has with a goaltender, from a youth hockey player to an Olympian, always touches on angles. People think goalies are crazy, and I would joke that it s more of an art than a science, but I would say that there is a lot of science to what we do, he says. In all the teaching we do, with goalies of all ages, the most important thing about being a goalie is being in the right place at the right time, and under control. So you have to teach kids how to get some place, where that right place is. And that s where you get into the study of angles. Why do the best goalies in the world make stopping a speeding puck look so easy? In large part it s due to playing the angles and basically cutting down the area that the shooter has to put the puck. By moving out away from the net, the goalie decreases the size of the window a shooter has to shoot at. There s math and science in all aspects of hockey. The key is to understand the concepts and come up with a scouting report that puts them on your side. That s why Stamm is convinced that you can reach kids by talking their language, and what better way to do that than by using science and math to help them become better hockey players? That s a great way to make them learn because this is something that they want to learn, she says. If you can do that you re really doing them a service. It might even carry over to outside of the rink.

Photos by Tom Kimmell / Players courtesy of Getty images Article from USA Hockey Magazine Issue: 2009-08 http://www.usahockeymagazine.com/article/2009-08/science-hockey