Speed, density and pressure are compound measures – and you learn all about them in Maths lessons. But did you know that the fastest land animal on Earth is the cheetah. It reaches speeds of up to 75 miles per hour! Fast enough to get a speeding ticket! The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird, diving at speeds up to 424 miles per hour. Similarly, in the sea, the Black Marlin is the fastest -it swims at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour!
The Dracula ant can snap its mandibles at up to 90 metres a second. In other words it can go from 0 to 200 miles per hour when it snaps them, around 5,000 times faster than humans blink. They use this to attack and kill their prey. In addition it is the fastest recorded animal movement in the animal kingdom.
A human’s jaw produces 100 pounds of pressure per square inch. This sounds like a lot, but compare it to the Nile crocodile. The crocodile’s jaws can produce 5,000 pounds of pressure per square inch. This is the strongest bite of any animal in the world, and 10 times more powerful than a great white shark. You would not want to get caught in a crocodile’s mouth!
GCSE Maths students – you need to be able to work with compound measures, like pressure. Our new guide, “How to work with Speed, Density and Pressure” can help. It includes the formula for each, and explains how to use them. Included, as always are questions to try, and answers to check your understanding.
To see the guide, click on the picture below.
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