Interactive: Race Day

In the following activity you will need to choose a winning team of people to paddle the waka ama. The winning team will have the greatest resultant force. The resultant force is worked out by subtracting the drag force from the thrust force of the paddlers. The drag force depends on the total weight force of the people in the waka. In sports science we call this the power to weight ratio.

It is race day and you will need to put your waka ama team together. Below are the names of the people who want to be in the team along with their vital statistics. Their forces are measured in newtons or N. One kilogram is equal to 10N on earth. 
As you place the people in the waka, their weight and thrust (paddling) force will appear the results table. Remember, the greater the weight force of the team, the lower the waka will be in the water. The lower the waka is in the water, the more drag force will be produced making it harder to paddle. The winning team will have the greatest resultant forward force.

Race Day Questions (Word 2007, 17 KB)

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