Run of the Mill

If you want to be a record-breaking Olympic medalist, or just as fast as you can be, you can use a treadmill. It’s a moving strip of rubber you run on…if you run too slow, you’ll fly off the back. Treadmills have been around for centuries, and used to be used to crush grain (that’s the “mill” part of its name). Now we just use them to run forever without going anywhere. Click here to test your own top speed - make your own “add-lib” version of this Bedtime Math story

Wee Ones: If you’re counting your steps on the treadmill, what number would you say after 4? Keep counting from there!

Little Kids: If you run 2 miles on Monday, then 3 miles on Tuesday, then 2 miles on Wednesday, and keep that pattern going, how many miles do you run on Saturday?
Bonus: If you’re trying to run on the treadmill for 20 minutes and you only have 4 minutes left to go, how many minutes have you been running for?

Big Kids: Some runners say the ideal rate of running is 3 steps per second. How many steps is that in 1 minute?
Bonus: If you’re trying to run 1 mile in 8 minutes and finish the first 1/4 mile in 2 minutes 15 seconds, how fast must you run each of the remaining 1/4 miles to finish in 8 minutes?

Answers:

Wee Ones: 5, then 6, 7, 8....

Little Kids: 3 miles on Saturday.
Bonus: 16 minutes.

Big Kids: 180 steps per minute. 
Bonus: 1 minute 55 seconds for each of the remaining 1/4 miles. You have to “make up” 15 seconds from the first 1/4 miletaking longer than 2 minutes. That means saving 5 seconds per remaining 1/4 mile.

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