Linear Patterns “The Marathon” In 490 B. C., there was a battle between the Greeks and the Persians near the village of Marathon. Legend tells us that immediately after the Greeks won, a Greek soldier was sent from Marathon to Athens to tell the city the good news. He ran the entire 40 kilometers (km). When he arrived, he was barely able to stammer out the news before he died. 1.
What might have caused the soldier’s death?
Marathon runners need lots of energy to run long distances. Your body gets energy to run by burning food. Just like in the engine of a car, burning fuel generates heat. Your body must release some of this heat or it will be seriously injured. Normal body temperature for humans is 37˚ Centigrade ( C ), or 98.6˚Farendeit (F). At a temperature of 41˚ C (105.8˚ F ), the body’s cells stop growing. At temperatures above 42˚C (107.6˚ F), the brain, kidneys, and other organs suffer permanent damage. When you run a marathon, your body produces enough heat to cause an increase in body temperature of 0.17˚C every minute. 2.
a. Make a table showing how your body temperature would rise while running a marathon if you did nothing to cool off. Show temperatures every 10 minutes. b. Use the table to make a graph of this data on the Marathon Activity Sheet.
3.
a. Why is the graph for problem 2b not realistic? b.
What does your body do to compensate for the rising temperature?
4. Does the graph represent a function? If so, is it linear or nonlinear? Explain why.