A Game of Numbers: Football & Math

A Game of Numbers: Football & Math

Are you ready for some Football?! And Math? American football season is underway. Whether your child is a football fanatic, or an occasional spectator, watching American football is a great way to learn and reinforce math skills. A single football game is full of numbers, statistics and various math concepts, from scoring and player and team rankings to the markings on the football field.  Let's take a virtual trip to the football field and learn about the various ways math is used in football.

What are the dimensions of the field?

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 and 1/3 yards wide. Each vertical white line on the football field represents a yard line. The lines start at the number 10 and go up to the number 50, then descend back down from 50 yards to 10, equaling 100 yards. (The 50-yard line simply marks the midpoint of the football field.) The extra 20 yards is 10 yards for each team's end zone, or the area where the opposing team scores a touchdown. 

How can a team score points?

Scoring a touchdown nets a team 6 points. The team also has the option to earn an extra point after the touchdown by kicking a field goal from the end zone. Sometimes the opposing team is too far away from the end zone for a player to run and score a touchdown in the time remaining. In this case, the team can attempt to kick a field goal from their current position on the field. If the kick is successful the team earns 3 points, instead of 6.

What's the Score?

Let's calculate a score based on the following plays:

At the end of the 1st half of a game, if a team scored two touchdowns with extra point attempts, and a 3-point field goal, what is the team's score going into halftime? 

We know that a touchdown is 6 points each and the team scored two touchdowns.

6 * 2 = 12

Now add in the extra point attempts, for 1 point each.

6*2 + 1 + 1 =

12 + 2 =

14.

Lastly, we know they scored a three-point field goal in place of a touchdown to gain 3 points.

14 + 3  =

17 points going into halftime.

How are teams ranked?

Each team's win/loss record is 0/0 at the start of the football season. 32 teams play 272 total games in a regular season. 12 teams with the best win/loss record at the end of the regular season move on to the playoffs, until it's down to two teams for the Super Bowl. As a team plays each week, their number of wins and losses changes.

How to calculate current season statistics?

Say that the Denver Broncos have a ranking of 3 - 4 - 0, three wins, 4 losses and 0 games that resulted in a tie score. These numbers are used to calculate the team's winning percentage. This is calculated by dividing the total number of games played by the total number of wins.

First, let's determine the total number of games played.

3 + 4 + 0 = 7 total games have been played so far in the season.

Next, find the total number of wins, 3.

Therefore their winning percentage is: 3 / 7 = 0.4285, rounded up to 0.429 to third decimal place. Although the number is called a "winning percentage” and you will see it written as a "PCT" for percentage, the number is not actually multiplied by 100 to be read as a percentage. When reading a team's statistics you will see the number written as 0.429 PCT.

Football is more than a game of physical strength and touchdown celebrations. It is a game of numbers that is built on the foundation of math. Numbers and statistics determine success and that winning percentage helps determine who ultimately makes it to the big game.

Our Mathnasium center is here to give your child more real-world examples of math they can relate to. We specialize in providing personalized math instruction for children in grades 2 through 12. To fit your child's schedule, we provide in-person and live online instruction.

As we move into Fall, if you notice your child is struggling and needs specialized attention or is bored and needs a challenge, our expertly trained instructors are here to help. Give us a call today or reach out to us online to schedule your child's no-risk free math assessment!