Two Weeks in the Village: The Olympics Continue - The Problems

 

September 25, 2000


Yeah, yeah, yeah... we know that last week's Problem of the Week focused on the Olympics, too. But the Summer Games only happen once every four years, and they're exciting enough that they deserve two weeks. Just to show how much more exciting they are, look at what's happened to ticket prices. In 1896, at the first Olympic games in Athens, Greece, tickets were 16 cents a piece. The average price for a ticket now is $39.72. What is the percent increase in the price of a ticket? Using these numbers, estimate the price of a ticket at the 1920 Olympic Games.

 

 

Paper Trail: More than 11,000 athletes will be using the facilities in the Olympic Village while they're attending the Summer Games in Sydney. No joke... the Olympic Village will require 15,000 kilometers of toilet paper during the athletes' stay. Estimate how many rolls of toilet paper that represents.

 

 

One If By Land, Two If By Sea: No surprise, it's faster to run on the track than it is to swim in the pool. Actually, Olympic track stars move about twice as fast as their fellow swimming athletes. For instance, gold medalist Inge de Bruijn of Holland swam 50 meters in 24.13 seconds, while Marion Jones of the U.S. ran 100 meters in 10.83 seconds. If Marion Jones began running 100 meters at the same time Inge de Bruijn began swimming, how many seconds sooner would Jones finish?

 

    * Olympic web site

 

2000 Problems & Solutions


January 3, 2000
MillenniuMath: Numbers For The Next 2000 Years
Problem
Solution

 

January 10, 2000
The Circle of Life: How America Recycles
Problem
Solution

 

January 17, 2000
Forget Y2K: Trouble Is Still Ahead For Computers
Problem
Solution

 

January 31, 2000
It's Snow Big Deal: Noreaster Buries The Northeast in White Stuff
Problem
Solution

 
February 7, 2000
Friendly Fat: Federal Regulations Distinguish Between Good And Bad Fat
Problem
Solution

 

February 14, 2000
Mini Ka-Boom: Small Particles and the Big Bang
Problem
Solution

February 21, 2000
Turning Ideas Into Reality: National Engineers Week
Problem
Solution

 
February 28, 2000
Leap of Faith: February 29th
Problem
Solution

 
March  6, 2000
Bread and Roses: International Women's Day
Problem
Solution

 
March  13, 2000
Campaign Pain: Election Year 2000
Problem
Solution

 
March  20, 2000
March Madness: NCAA Championship
Problem
Solution

 
March  27, 2000
Hello, Oscar!: The Academy Awards
Problem
Solution

 
April 3, 2000
A Stitch in Time: Daylight Savings Time
Problem
Solution

 
April 10, 2000
Reading the Numbers: National Library Week
Problem
Solution

 
April 17, 2000
Flying's Not What It Used To Be: The Airline Quality Rating (AQR)
Problem
Solution

 
April 24, 2000
Alphabet Soup: Dot-Com Names on the Net
Problem
Solution

 
May 1, 2000
Bidder Sweet: MATHCOUNTS On-Line Auction
Problem
Solution

 
May 8, 2000
Warm Weather Warm-Up: Celsius and Fahrenheit
Problem
Solution 
 
July 3, 2000
Not Just Fireworks: History of the 4th
Problem
Solution

 
July 10, 2000
Teen Wizard: Harry Potter
Problem
Solution

 
July 17, 2000
AIDS: The Current African Epidemic
Problem
Solution

 

July 24, 2000
Rise and Fall: Gas Prices
Problem
Solution

 

July 31, 2000
People, People Everywhere: Anniversary of the U. S. Census
Problem
Solution

 
August 7, 2000
Sum Fun on the Web: Math Problems in Cyberspace
Problem
Solution

 
August 14, 2000
Pencils, Books, Dirty Looks: Back to School
Problem
Solution

 
August 21, 2000
Knee High by the Fourth of July: Harvesting and Agriculture
Problem
Solution

 
August 28, 2000
Show Time: The WNBA Finals
Problem
Solution

 
September 4, 2000
It's Here! The New School Handbook
Problem
Solution

 
September 11, 2000
At the Cross Roads: Where Letters and Numbers Meet
Problem
Solution

 
September 18, 2000
Five Rings: The Olympics Begin
Problem
Solution

 
September 25, 2000
Two Weeks in the Village: The Olympics Continue
Problem
Solution

 
October 1, 2000
One Last Time: The Last Week of the Olympics
Problem
Solution

 
October 9, 2000
Why Math Matters: Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve
Problem
Solution

 
October 16, 2000
Triskaidekaphobia: Fear of the Number 13
Problem
Solution

 
October 23, 2000
Shut Up and Drive: Banning Cell Phone Use in Cars
Problem
Solution

 

October 30, 2000
Frightfully Delicious: Halloween
Problem
Solution


November 6, 2000
Sesquipedalian Adventures: The Oxford English Dictionary
Problem
Solution

 
November 13, 2000
Too Close to Call: The Presidential Election
Problem
Solution

 
November 20, 2000
Second Look: Problems That Aren't What They Appear
Problem
Solution

 
November 27, 2000
No Long Lines: Holiday Shopping From Home
Problem
Solution

 
December  4, 2000
Rude and Crude: Mississippi River Oil Spill
Problem
Solution

 
December  11, 2000
Frigid and Frosty: Temperatures Droppin'
Problem
Solution

 
December  18, 2000
Present Probability: Gift Giving and the Holidays
Problem
Solution

 

December  25, 2000
Happy Holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa
Problem
Solution

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