Stony Brook Calculus Materials


Calculus I - Handouts

Olympic Track & Field Records, 1960 - 1980

In conjunction with the problem on Olympic winning times in Mexico City in the Hughes Hallett text.

The XIX Summer Olympic Games were held in Mexico City, October 12-17, 1968. The altitude affected different events in different ways. Here is a table of the winning times or lengths in some of the track & field competitions in the Summer Games from 1960 through 1980. 

 

MEN           1960       1964       1968       1972       1976       1980
100m          10.2       10.0       9.95      10.14      10.06      10.25
200m          20.5       20.3      19.83      20.0       20.23      20.19
400m          44.9       45.1      43.86      44.66      44.26      44.60
800m        1:46.3     1:45.1     1:44.3     1:45.9     1:43.5     1:45.4
1500m       3:35.6     3:38.1     3:34.9     3:36.3     3:39.17    3:38.4
5000m      13:43.4    13:48.8    14:05.0    13:26.4    13:24.76   13:21.0
10000m     28:32.2    28:24.4    29:27.4    27:38.4    27:40.38   27:42.7
Marathon 2:15:16.2  2:12:11.2  2:20:26.4  2:12:19.8  2:09:55.0  2:11:03.0
High Jump    7-1     7-1 3/4    7-4 1/4    7-3 3/4    7-4 3/4    7-8 3/4
Long Jump 26-7 3/4  26-5 3/4   29-2 1/2   27-0 1/2   27-4 3/4   28-0 1/4


WOMEN         1960       1964       1968       1972       1976       1980
100m          11.0       11.4       11.0      11.07      11.08      11.06
200m          24.0       23.0       22.5      22.40      22.37      22.03
400m                     52.0       52.0      51.08      49.29      48.88
800m        2:04.3     2:01.1     2:00.9    1:58.55    1:54.94    1:53.42
Long Jump 20-10 3/4   22-2 1/4  22-4 1/4     22-3      22-0 3/4    23-2

Source: The 1991 Information Please Sports Almanac.

Class discussion topics: What is the best way to present these data so as to bring out the differences between the Mexico City Olympics and those in nearby years? What is the most plausible explanation for these differences?