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The Open University

The science behind wheeled sports

The Open University via OpenLearn

Overview

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---Please note: Thisis course is due to be archived on . You can study thecourse up until this date. For learners who have completed the course, theStatement of Participation will remain in your learner records in yourOpenLearn profile.---This free course, The science behind wheeled sports, focuses on cycling and wheelchair racing: what we might collectively call wheeled sports. The Scientific concepts such as force, acceleration and speed are also useful for understanding these sports. However, cycling and wheelchair racing differ from other sports in that technology more obviously plays an important role.Please note: This course contains two Flash activitieswhich are no longer playable. These are being updated. This course can still bestudied, but you may like to postpone your study for now if you would ratherhave the full experience.

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • Rolling fast: the science behind wheeled sports
  • 1 Cycling events at the Olympic Games
  • 1.1 History of cycling at the Olympic Games
  • 1.2 Wheelchair sports at the Paralympic Games
  • 1.3 Study skill: effective internet use
  • 1.5 Summary
  • 2 Aerodynamics and wheeled sports
  • 2.1 Aerodynamics
  • 2.2 The effect of aerodynamics
  • 2.3 Technological developments in track cycling
  • 2.4 Summary
  • 3 Materials technology and wheeled sports
  • 3.1 The structure of carbon fibre
  • 3.2 Carbon fibre and composite materials
  • 3.3 The effect of new materials on cycling
  • 3.4 Summary
  • 4 Effects of new technology
  • 4.1 Aerodynamics and technology in wheelchair racing
  • 4.2 World records in track cycling
  • 4.3 Removing the technology
  • 4.4 Summary
  • Conclusion
  • 5.1 What science have you seen in this course?
  • 5.2 How does this science help us understand wheeled sports?
  • 5.3 Science and wheeled sports: a few final words
  • Acknowledgements

Reviews

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