(SME) Sports: Matter and Energy Module Overview

Sports: Matter and Energy Module Overview

Introduction

Have you ever wondered how your favorite sport and science are related? In this module you will find out by using the knowledge you already have, while learning about some new compounds and materials that have changed sports forever. We will study how different materials give athletes a competitive edge. We will explore how transfer of energy allowed for some of the most spectacular plays in history, and how modern technology is taking sports to a new level. We will investigate why world records are being shattered on a regular basis. Finally, we will consider the factors that account for the increase in athletic performance over the past one hundred year.

Essential Questions

  • Why do NBA basketball players wear rubber bottom shoes?
  • Why don't we make jewelry out of oxygen?
  • What is the role of energy in our daily life?

Key Terms

  1. Atom - The smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination.
  2. Compound - A substance made up of two or more elements.
  3. Element - A substance which cannot be separated into smaller parts and still retain its chemical identity. For example, sodium (Na) is an element.
  4. Energy Transformations - The process of changing from one energy form to another.
  5. Kinetic Energy - Energy due to motion of a mass.
  6. Law of Conservation of Energy - Basic law of nature which claims that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but rather changes form.
  7. Mass - The measurement of the amount of matter that an object contains.
  8. Metal - A substance that is a good conductor of electricity and heat. They also have the properties of being ductile, malleable and shiny.
  9. Metalloid - A substance that has some properties of metals and some properties of nonmetals.
  10. Mixtures - A material made up by two or more different substances which are mixed but are not combined chemically.
  11. Nonmetal - A substance that lacks the properties of a metal which are brittle and are poor conductors of heat and electricity.
  12. Potential Energy - A form of energy that can be converted to other, more useful forms; stored energy.
  13. Radioactive - A property of an element that causes it to spontaneously decay into other smaller elements.
  14. Weight - The mathematical relationship between mass and gravitational pull; Weight = Mass x Gravity.

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