Mathematics and Sports

Introduction

By Thomas McBroom

A Math Webquest created for 10th Grade Math Class

Introduction

Most people are familiar with sports rules and terminology; however, they are not always aware of the important role that math plays in sports. A myriad of data on players, teams, divisions and leagues is provided by the media and the sports world. You have been selected to explore the numerous connections between math and sports.                                                         

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Task

You are probably familiar with professional sports and stay abreast of scores and standing for your favorite teams. In each webquest below, you will engage in web-based inquiry to answer the questions presented and to perform the tasks required. These tasks will require a computer, access to the web, graph paper (see the math resources below), paper, pencil and a ruler. Access to a printer is helpful, but not required. Links are included to help you explore. In addition, there are links to sports and math resources at the bottom of this page. It's time to "play ball!"

Batting Average Earned Run Average
Wikipedia e-How
Buddy Project Urban Dictionary
Figure This! Math Home Run Web
MLB Historical Player Stats MLB Baseball Pitching Statistics and League Leaders

Baseball                                                                            

Baseball Stats 101

Baseball-Reference.com

Historical Player Stats (PDF)

Math Resources

Other Resources

Search engines such as Bing, Google, Yahoo!

Process

Part I:  Batting Average

The following tasks may require some of the sports resources listed on the previous page. Try our Lessons on Decimals, then do the following:
  1. What is a batting average?
  2. How is a batting average calculated?
  3. Calculate the batting averages for the following players.
PLAYER AT-BATS HITS BATTING AVERAGE
Ken Griffey, Jr 600 173  
Sammy Sosa 625 180  
Tony Gwynn 411 139  
  1. Order the batting averages in tem 3 from least to greatest.
  2. Compute the batting averages for 25 players in the 2008 season.
  3. Find historical player stats for 20 baseball players from the 2009 season.
  4. Compute the batting average for each player.
  5. Create a table for your results.
  6. How does a batting average measure a player's performance?

Part II:  Earned Run Average

  1. What is an Earned Run Average?
  2. How is an ERA calculated?
  3. Gather pitching stats for Earned Runs (ER) and Number of Innings Pitched (IP).
  4. Calculate the ERA for each pitcher.
  5. Create a table for your results.
  6. How does an earned run average measure a pitcher's performance?
Evaluation
  • Print or save tables, graphs and other data you gathered in this webquest.
  • Discuss your findings with a classmate or family member, and a teacher.
  • Name three formulas you learned in this webquest.
  • Create five original problems from math and sports.
  • Share your problems on Facebook.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have explored the important role that math plays in the world of sports. These explorations should give you a better understanding of the numerous connections between sports, probability and statistics, and other areas of mathematics.

Teacher Page

By Thomas McBroom, West Monroe High School

Teacher Introduction:

This lesson was designed for 10th graders who enjoy both Math and Sports.  In the 10th grade class at West Monroe High School students learn how to utilize Math into Sports. This Webquest incororates research and numbers in a fun way for students while providing a fun experience of learning how the two intertwined.