Distribute the latest edition of the paper your class and ask your students to turn to the sports section. Each student should select the latest box scores for their favorite team. Using the forumlas given above, have them figure the single-game batting averages for the all the players. Then have them figure the pitchers' ERA the same way. Middle school students can collect game statistics from the paper over a several-week period and graph the players' batting averages.
Younger students can do simple math problems involving adding and subtracting game scores.
This fascinating story can be found on the Mathsoft Web site by the Department of Mathematics at the Univeristy of Arizona. He wanted to design a piece of leather which could be sewn to an identical piece, and then stretched to cover the yarn-wound core of a ball. The problem is more complex than it appears. The point of this Web page is to develp a mathematical formula to take the guesswork out of the design process. The page walks students through the process of visualizing and defining the problem, then using computational geometry and calculus to design the ball cover.