First News: Bolt vs Dinosaur

First News is a 28-page weekly newspaper for young people delivered into homes across the UK every Friday. Find out more and try for free at firstnews.co.uk/1free

BOLT VS DINOSAUR

A university professor in America found an interesting way to engage his psychics students- by asking them if famous runner Usain Bolt is faster than a dinosaur!

(photo: getty)(photo: getty)
(photo: getty)

Scott Lee, from the University of Toledo, asked his students to work out if one of the world's greatest ever sprinters could beat Dilophosaurus wetherilli in a 100m race.

The students looked at velocity (how fast you are moving in a certain direction) and acceleration (how your velocity changes over time). They also had to consider Newton's second law of motion, which explains that the greater the mass (the proper scientific term for what we might usually call weight) of an object, the more force it will take to accelerate it.

As Usain Bolt's mass is much less that Dilophosaurus, Bolt has an advantage. It takes a lot less force for him to push off at the start of the race and build up speed over the 100m distance.

The second law of motion and Bolt's ability to accelerate proved to be the winning formula. The students calculated that Bolt would leave Dilophosaurus in the dust, beating it by 2 seconds!

YOUR NEWS

Young people! Send us your news and photos to [email protected] to have your story published on our page and ,perhaps, in First News too.

Comic Relief challenge

By Cressie

For Comic Relief, Tom Daley took on an epic challenge to get from London to his home town of Plymouth by rowing, swimming, cycling and running.

Cressie getting Tom's autographCressie getting Tom's autograph
Cressie getting Tom's autograph

I was lucky enough to welcome him, along with my parents and my brother Ned, to Bovey Castle, where he finished the third leg, cycling 130 miles (209km) from Southampton to Dartmoor. I was so excited to see him because I knew how incredible his diving was.

Once he had settled in, we were lucky enough to get his autograph. We saw him off on the last leg of his immense journey, which took him from Bovey Castle to Plymouth, a total of 30 miles (48km) of running.

He said that in training he had only ever run 18 miles (29km) before, so this would be huge! This was an experience I'll never forget!

DIARY DATES

St Patrick's Day

17 March

Ireland's national day, celebrated with parades, parties and food.

Commonwealth Day

14 March

A day to celebrate and unite all 54 member states of the Commonwealth.

Holi

17-18 March

A Hindu festival that welcomes the arrival of spring. It is often known as the Festival of Colours.

WOW!

Charity worker Max Stanford guzzled a whopping 88 Jaffa Cakes in just three minutes during an eating competition, and is believed to have set a new world record!

WEEKLY PUZZLE

Related topics: