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Skiing Maths

Maths in skiing: personal bests

Compare old and new results.

Quick answer

Maths in skiing: personal bests means comparing your old skiing times or scores with your new ones to see if you’ve improved. You can use subtraction to find the difference, and sometimes addition if you want to predict how much faster you might go next time.

Learning outcome

By the end of this page, you will be able to compare your old skiing results with new ones and work out how much better or worse you’ve done, using subtraction and addition. Success signs:
  • You can tell the difference between your old and new skiing times or scores.
  • You can subtract to find how much faster or slower you went.
  • You can add to predict how much faster you might go next time.
  • You can explain why comparing results helps you improve.

Why this matters

Skiing is a fun sport that uses a lot of maths! When you ski, you race down slopes, and it's exciting to see how fast you're going. Every time you go skiing, you can measure your speed or how well you did in a race. By comparing your scores from one day to the next, you can see if you're getting better. This helps you set new goals and feel proud of your progress. Maths helps you understand how much you've improved and gives you a reason to keep trying harder.

How it works

To compare your skiing results:
  1. Write down your old result – this could be a time, a score, or how many tricks you did.
  2. Write down your new result – this is what you did this time.
  3. Subtract the old result from the new result – if you get a positive number, you got better. If you get a negative number, you did worse.
  4. Add or subtract to predict your next result – if you got faster, you can guess how much faster you might go next time.

Examples you can see

Let’s imagine you’re learning to ski and want to see how you’ve improved. Example 1: Time comparison
  • Last week, you skied down a slope in 45 seconds.
  • This week, you skied down the same slope in 38 seconds.
  • To find the difference: 45 – 38 = 7 seconds.
  • You were 7 seconds faster this time!
Example 2: Trick score
  • Last time, you did 3 tricks.
  • This time, you did 5 tricks.
  • To find the difference: 5 – 3 = 2 tricks.
  • You did 2 more tricks this time!
Example 3: Speed in km/h
  • Last time, you went 12 km/h.
  • This time, you went 15 km/h.
  • To find the difference: 15 – 12 = 3 km/h.
  • You went 3 km/h faster this time!

Try it as a mini adventure

Adventure: The Skiing Challenge You are a ski racer who wants to beat your personal best! You’ve been keeping track of your times on a mountain. Here’s your challenge:
  1. First time: You skied down the slope in 50 seconds.
  2. Second time: You skied down the slope in 42 seconds.
  3. Third time: You skied down the slope in 39 seconds.
  4. Fourth time: ? seconds (You need to work out how much faster you went from your third time to your second time.)
  5. Fifth time: You skied down the slope in 36 seconds.
Questions:
  1. How much faster was your second time compared to your first?
  2. How much faster was your third time compared to your second?
  3. How much faster was your fifth time compared to your third?
  4. If you keep improving at the same rate, how fast might you go next time?

Common mistakes

  • Mistake: Subtracting the new result from the old result instead of the other way around.
    Why it happens: Sometimes children mix up which number to take away from which.
    Fix: Always subtract the old result from the new result to see if you improved (positive answer) or got worse (negative answer).
  • Mistake: Forgetting to write down the results before comparing them.
    Why it happens: It's easy to forget numbers when you're excited about skiing.
    Fix: Use a notebook or a phone to write down your times or scores so you don’t forget them.
  • Mistake: Adding instead of subtracting when comparing results.
    Why it happens: Confusing the operation needed.
    Fix: Remember: subtraction shows how much better or worse you did, and addition helps you guess what might happen next.

Parent and carer guide

As a parent or carer, you can help your child by:
  • Setting up a simple way to track skiing times or scores, like a chart or a notebook.
  • Encouraging your child to write down results after each ski run.
  • Using subtraction to find the difference between results and celebrate improvements.
  • Encouraging predictions: "If you keep going faster, how fast might you go next time?"
  • Not worrying if your child makes a mistake – it's all part of learning!

Practice questions

  1. Yesterday you skied in 40 seconds. Today you skied in 35 seconds. How much faster were you today?
  2. Last week you did 2 tricks. This week you did 6 tricks. How many more tricks did you do this week?
  3. Yesterday you went 10 km/h. Today you went 13 km/h. How much faster were you today?
  4. You skied in 30 seconds last time. If you get 5 seconds faster each time, how fast might you go next time?
  5. Your last time was 55 seconds. Today you skied in 48 seconds. How much faster were you?
Answers:
  1. 40 – 35 = 5 seconds faster
  2. 6 – 2 = 4 more tricks
  3. 13 – 10 = 3 km/h faster
  4. 30 – 5 = 25 seconds, so next time you might go 25 seconds
  5. 55 – 48 = 7 seconds faster

FAQ

What does it mean to beat a personal best?

It means you did better than you ever did before – like skiing faster or doing more tricks.

How do I know if I'm getting better at skiing?

You can compare your old times or scores with new ones. If your time is shorter or your score is higher, you’re getting better!

Can I use maths to guess how fast I’ll go next time?

Yes! If you know how much faster you’ve been each time, you can predict how fast you might go next.

Why is it fun to compare skiing results?

It helps you see your progress and makes you feel proud when you improve. It also gives you goals to work towards.

What if I get worse at skiing?

That’s okay! Sometimes we have bad days, but that’s part of learning. The important thing is to keep trying and learning from each run.