When electronic timing of swimming races was first introduced a number of years
ago, a race was timed to the nearest 0.001 second and the difference between first and
second place was only 0.001 s. Typical times for an Olympic class 400 metres
swimming race, which comprises 8 laps of a 50 m pool, are between 3 minutes and 40
seconds to 3 minutes and 50 seconds, i.e. about 220 to 230 seconds.
i) Calculate the average speed of an Olympic swimmer in a 400-metre
race.
ii) If two Olympic swimmers finish a race 0.001 seconds apart in a 400-
metre swim what is the distance separating them?
iii) If the length of different lanes in the pool varies by +/- 1 mm could this
put the result of the race in doubt? Justify your answer.
(Swimming races in the Olympics are now timed to +/- 0.01 seconds!)
ago, a race was timed to the nearest 0.001 second and the difference between first and
second place was only 0.001 s. Typical times for an Olympic class 400 metres
swimming race, which comprises 8 laps of a 50 m pool, are between 3 minutes and 40
seconds to 3 minutes and 50 seconds, i.e. about 220 to 230 seconds.
i) Calculate the average speed of an Olympic swimmer in a 400-metre
race.
ii) If two Olympic swimmers finish a race 0.001 seconds apart in a 400-
metre swim what is the distance separating them?
iii) If the length of different lanes in the pool varies by +/- 1 mm could this
put the result of the race in doubt? Justify your answer.
(Swimming races in the Olympics are now timed to +/- 0.01 seconds!)
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