After nearly 100 years of strict tradition, new technology transformed the speed skating world at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games when officials allowed the introduction of the "clap skate" to international competition. The idea of the clap skate emerged around 1894, but remained unnoticed until a group of scientists at the Faculty of Human Movement Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands, began researching it in the mid-1980s. Similar to a cross-country ski, the hinge on the skate allows the skater to keep the blade in contact with the ice longer, creating more force and generating additional speed. This new technology shattered five world records at the Nagano games, as athletes improved their times by almost 5%.

In Sydney's 2000 Games, new bodysuits revolutionized competitive swimming. Marine biologists created a material called "Fastskin" for Speedo that offered less resistance through the water than human skin. Modeled on shark skin, the new suits helped to cut precious seconds off competitors' best times — the difference between winning an event and not qualifying for the medal heat at all.

Similar "speed suits" now dominate in Salt Lake City. Nike’s "Swift Skin" and the Descente "Vortex" suits underwent years of testing before being sported by this year’s athletes from the US and the Netherlands. Speed skaters literally cover themselves from head to foot in the new materials. Complete with hood, gloves, and skate covers, they aim to take yet more seconds off their best times by decreasing air friction all over their bodies. "Air resistance can be a negative factor in any sport where someone has to move themselves," said Nike’s innovation director, Rick MacDonald. The United States' Chris Witty claimed a gold medal — and an Olympic and world record — wearing the "Swift Skin." So far, athletes from the United States and the Netherlands have collected four golds, three silvers, and three bronzes in the speed skating events.

Downhill skiers and snowboarders are also looking to technology to help them speed up. Burton Snowboards incorporated indium, a metallic element, into its new Olympic boards. By reducing heat conductivity, the boards melt less snow and create less friction, increasing their speed. Also, before hitting the slopes, downhill and cross-country skiers apply a layer of wax to the bottom of their skis. This decreases friction by acting as a lubricant in warm weather, and creating a slick surface on hard snow. Some athletes carry different sets of pre-waxed skis to each event for the various snow conditions. According to Todd Brooker, former world-class skier, "Missing the wax could mean as much as two or three seconds in total time, which is the difference between first place and 30th."

Skaters, skiers, and snowboarders all work to decrease their friction on the ice and through the air. Bobsledders hope to decrease friction and add momentum in their quest for gold. Not only have they incorporated the fast suits, aerodynamic helmets, and honed blades, but they've also taken measures to increase the momentum of their sleds as much as possible. The governing body of bobsledding establishes a maximum weight limit for each team in both the 2-man and 4-man events. If the athletes and their sled do not reach this limit, they can add extra ballast to increase their weight, and consequently, their momentum.

To begin with, introduce the concepts of friction and momentum using the explanations at the right for students. Then use the following activities to conduct classroom experiments that deepen students' understanding of the concepts. (These activities require Logal Express and a Riverdeep.net subscription. Get a free trial subscription today.)

• As we have already discovered, Olympic athletes use every available technology to increase their speed and velocity. In speed skating, skiing, snowboarding, and bobsledding, the team with the greatest velocity wears the gold at the end of the day. In Speed and Velocity, an activity from Middle School Science Gateways, students learn about speed and velocity with reference to the movements of hockey pucks and figure skaters. While this activity does not incorporate the principles of friction, it does introduce the relationships between time, distance, and speed.
• Olympic athletes implement every available technology to reduce friction, whether it is through the air, in the water, or on the ice. In Force, another Middle School Science Gateways activity, students explore the effect of various forces on the motion of an object. As they vary the magnitude of a push, the degree of frictional resistance, and the pull of gravity, students gain a better understanding of the external forces that affect velocity. Advanced students can further analyze the effects of friction in the Physics Explorer activity, Highly Damped Fall. Here, they chart the drag on a sky diver as the parachute opens.
• Speed skaters dig their skates into the ice to boost themselves off of the starting line. Skiers use their arms to shove out of the gate. As mentioned, bobsledders get a huge running start before hurling down the lane. In the Middle School Science Gateways activity, Newton’s Second Law of Motion, students fire rocket thrusters to examine the relationships between force, mass, and acceleration. Advanced physics students can learn more about work and energy in these Physics Explorer activities: Energy, Energy & Work, Momentum & Impulse, and Energy in Two-Dimensional Collisions.
• Bobsledders race down the ice tucked into their sleds. However, their speed can be attributed to more than aerodynamics — momentum works equally hard to propel them towards victory. In Momentum from Middle School Science Gateways, students can learn about the role of velocity and mass in creating momentum using a bowling ball and pins. Advanced physics students can learn more about momentum in these Physics Explorer activities: Momentum and Force and Energy & Work, Momentum & Impulse.
• As a bobsled races down the track, it gradually picks up speed. After the initial launch by the athlete, the momentum carries the sled to its maximum velocity. In Acceleration, from Middle School Science Gateways, students grasp the concept of constant accleration by collecting data for velocity changes over several increments of time, calculating the acceleration, and confirming a pattern of linear change in velocity over time.

Thinking About the Problem
The Olympics will be on TV until the 24th of February. Here are some questions that your students could address while watching the games:

1. In the medal round of the short track speed skating event, which competitors are wearing the new speed suits? Predict who you think will win. What is the distance around the track? What is the winning time? How fast did the competitors fly around the track? Did the suit really help? How was the winner’s time compared to the winner’s best recorded time?

2. In slalom skiing, skiers have to round a series of gates as they scream down the mountain. Do those gates add extra friction to the racers? If yes, then how much? What hypothesis can you make about the contact that a skier makes with the gate and that athlete’s velocity? Do any other factors related to the gates contribute to the skier's time? Does this prove or disprove your hypothesis that the gates add extra friction?

3. Bobsled teams rock back and forth, waiting for their starting gun. At "go," they have a certain distance that they can run before having to jump in the sled. What is that distance? Now, record the time from "go" to when the athletes jumps into the sled; then calculate the velocity of the sled off the start. If you compare that initial velocity versus the velocities calculated at various intervals throughout the race, is there a correlation? What does the comparison tell you about the effects of acceleration?

Extending the Problem

• "The High-Tech Race for Olympic Gold," from MSNBC, looks at the engineering of high-tech equipment that improves performance.
• All of this week's Riverdeep Current articles are related to the Winter Olympics. Your students will find lots of enjoyable activities in "Ideals and Dollars: Selling the Olympics," on the commercial aspects of the Olympics and "Playing with Words," about sportswriting.
• "Dancing on Ice" is a recent Riverdeep Current "Teaching the News" feature that looks at the science of figure skating.
• For more sport science, check out these other "Teaching the News" features: "Super Bowl Physics" and also "America's Pastime," which is about the science of baseball.
• Sea anemones use drag to keep themselves from being carried away by ocean currents. Students can read about this phenomena in the Riverdeep Current article, "When Animals Use Science." Use this as another example of the effects of drag and friction on velocity.
• Students can learn more about the history and science of their favorite sports from the official Salt Lake 2002 Olympics site.
• The Olympic Committee's education site features plenty of Olympics-related activities for students and teachers.
• NBC and its affiliates serve as the host for all of the Winter Olympic events. Students can visit NBCOlympics.com for complete coverage of the games, including athlete bios, scores, and event highlights.

--by Beth Holland of the Harvard Graduate School in Education's "Technology in Education" program