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Ice Skating Maths

Ice Skating personal bests maths challenge

A child-friendly sports challenge using personal bests to practise subtraction with real examples.

Quick answer

You can use subtraction to find out how much faster or slower you are compared to your personal best time in ice skating.

Learning outcome

By the end of this page, you will be able to use subtraction to compare your ice skating times with your personal bests and see how much you’ve improved. Success signs:
  • You can subtract two numbers to find the difference
  • You can compare your current time with your best time
  • You can tell if you've got faster or slower
  • You can solve a real ice skating problem using subtraction

Why this matters

Ice skating is a sport where timing is everything. When you skate, you want to get faster and faster each time you try. By comparing your times, you can see how much you’ve improved. This helps you set goals, track your progress, and feel proud of your achievements. Subtracting times is just like subtracting numbers in maths – it helps you find the difference between two things.

How it works

To find out how much faster or slower you are, you need to subtract your current time from your best time. If the answer is a positive number, you’re faster than before. If the answer is zero or a negative number, you’re slower than before. You can do this with minutes and seconds, or just seconds. Let’s break it down step by step:
  1. Write down your best time
  2. Write down your current time
  3. Subtract your current time from your best time
  4. Read the answer to see how much you’ve improved or got slower

Examples you can see

Let’s imagine you’re learning to skate and you want to see how much faster you’ve become. Here are some examples: Example 1: Time in seconds
  • Best time: 30 seconds
  • Current time: 25 seconds
  • Subtract: 30 - 25 = 5 seconds
  • You’re 5 seconds faster!
Example 2: Time in minutes and seconds
  • Best time: 1 minute 10 seconds
  • Current time: 55 seconds
  • Convert best time to seconds: 1 minute = 60 seconds, so 60 + 10 = 70 seconds
  • Subtract: 70 - 55 = 15 seconds
  • You’re 15 seconds faster!
Example 3: You’re slower this time
  • Best time: 45 seconds
  • Current time: 50 seconds
  • Subtract: 50 - 45 = 5 seconds
  • You’re 5 seconds slower

Try it as a mini adventure

Imagine you are part of a fun ice skating team. Your team has a special challenge: to beat your personal best time on a short race. You’ve been practising and you want to see how much faster you’ve become. Adventure Steps:
  1. First, write down your best time for a 50-metre race (try to use seconds)
  2. Then, race again and write down your new time
  3. Subtract your new time from your best time
  4. Did you get faster? How much faster?
  5. Keep a small notebook to record all your times and improvements
You can even race with your friends or family and compare how much you’ve all improved!

Common mistakes

  • Mistake: Subtracting the best time from the current time instead of the other way around.
    Why it happens: You might forget which number to subtract from.
    Fix: Always subtract the current time from the best time to see if you're faster.
  • Mistake: Mixing up minutes and seconds when subtracting.
    Why it happens: It's easy to get confused when you have two units of time.
    Fix: Convert everything to seconds first, then subtract.
  • Mistake: Thinking that a bigger number means you're faster.
    Why it happens: It’s confusing when numbers get bigger or smaller.
    Fix: Remember: the smaller the time, the faster you are!

Parent and carer guide

As a parent or carer, you can help your child by:
  • Encouraging them to keep a small notebook for their skating times
  • Helping them convert minutes and seconds into seconds for easier subtraction
  • Reinforcing that the smaller the number, the faster they are
  • Practising subtraction with real-life examples like ice skating times
  • Letting them lead the activity so they feel confident in their maths
You can also make it fun by turning it into a game. For example, you could set up a mini race and time each other, then subtract to see who got faster.

Practice questions

  1. Best time: 40 seconds. Current time: 35 seconds. How much faster?
  2. Best time: 1 minute 20 seconds. Current time: 1 minute 5 seconds. How much faster?
  3. Best time: 30 seconds. Current time: 32 seconds. How much slower?
  4. Best time: 50 seconds. Current time: 48 seconds. How much faster?
  5. Best time: 1 minute 15 seconds. Current time: 1 minute 20 seconds. How much slower?
Answers:
  1. 5 seconds faster
  2. 15 seconds faster
  3. 2 seconds slower
  4. 2 seconds faster
  5. 5 seconds slower

FAQ

What is a personal best in ice skating?

A personal best is the fastest time you’ve ever achieved for a particular skating task, like a race or routine.

Why do we subtract to find out how much we’ve improved?

We subtract to find the difference between your best time and your current time. This shows how much faster or slower you are.

Can I use this method for other sports?

Yes! You can use subtraction to compare times in any sport, like running, swimming, or cycling.

What if my time is the same as my best time?

If your time is the same, the subtraction will equal zero, which means you didn’t get faster or slower.

How can I make my times faster?

You can practice more, improve your technique, and stay focused during your skating sessions.