Millennium Math

Name________________________________________

Times Square 2000, the global celebration in New York City, will be the largest in its 95- year history. It will begin on Friday, December 31, at 6:30AM when the first time zone in the South Pacific sees the arrival of the new year, and continues for 24 hours until 6:30 January 1, when the last time zone in the mid Pacific enters the new year.

1. When was New Year's Eve first celebrated at Times Square? Give the year.

2. When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, what time will it be in the South Pacific?

3. At our 6PM December 31, it will be midnight in many European and African countries. What time would it be there if it is 10AM here?

4. They expect 1 million people in Times Square and one billion people to watch on television. Write 1 million as an exponent of 10.

5. Write 1 billion as an exponent of 10.

6. This year marks the debut of a new Times Square ball. It is 6 feet in diameter and weighs 1,070 pounds. Is this > or < a half ton? Explain.

7. When the ball is dropped the 77 feet down the flagpole at 11:59, does it drop faster or slower than a foot a second? Explain.

8. A local bank has a digital calendar and clock counting down to the new millennium. If it says 23 days, 9 hours, and 24 minutes, what date and time is it?

9. The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. The parade celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.
   Including this New Year's, how many times has the Parade been held?

10. Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned and has been played ever since. How many years were chariot races held?

    

    America Online took a poll to see who were the best athletes of the century. These are the results, with percentage of the vote and actual number of votes:

    Michael Jordan: 41%, 79,605
    Pele: 12%, 22,564
    Jim Thorpe: 11.5%, 22,374
    Muhammed Ali: 11.3%, 21,930
    Babe Ruth: 8.5%, 16,564
    Wayne Gretzsky: 5%, 9,020
    Jesse Owens: 4%, 7,502
    Babe Didrickson Zaharias: 2.5%, 4,938
    Ty Cobb: 2.5%, 4,828
    John Elway: 2.4%, 4,739

11. Which two athletes received a little less than half of the votes together?

12. What percentage of the votes did males receive?

13. Which two athletes came closest in the voting?

14. Who came the closest to Jim Thorpe in the voting?

15. How many voted in this poll?