Science Behind Gymnastics (Science of the Summer Olympics)

Description

Behind every jump, spin, and flip of Olympic gymnastics, science is at work. Centrifugal force is at work in a midair spin, and center of gravity is involved in balance beam routines. Newton's Third Law of Motion springs into action as a gymnast flies into the air in the vaulting event. Find out how science is involved in all your favorite gymnastics events and how gymnasts take science into account as they chase the gold medal.

L. E. Carmichael completed her Ph.D. thesis on the genetics of wolves and arctic foxes in 2006. Since then, she has published 15 science books for kids and teens on topics ranging from animal migration to civil engineering. Her book The Scientific Method in the Real World is a Junior Library Guild Selection, and Fox Talk: How Some Very Special Animals Helped Scientists Understand Communication won a silver medal in the 2014 Benjamin Franklin Awards. Carmichael lives near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

...packs a weighty spread of topics in its relatively few pages. Physics is a natural choice, but Carmichael also includes nutrition, engineering, and psychology. Each spread features splashy layouts with lots of photos and diagrams, and the text does a great job of introducing vocabulary, both in inset boxes on the pages where terms appear and in a comprehensive glossary. . . .plenty here to introduce a wide range of topics to students whose interest in gymnastics or this year's Olympic Games might make for a tidy segue into school projects.-- "Booklist" Photos abound in this STEM-ready Summer Olympics series. Critical thinking questions at the end of each volume give them that one-two Common Core punch. The many textual asides on the photo-laden pages include ample information for burgeoning athletes who really want to know how physics plays into sports. . . .A recommended first purchase for libraries looking to engage sports lovers in STEM topics.-- "School Library Journal"