DynaMath Mystery: The Case of the Field Day Flop

“Yes! We won!” Marcie yelled, giving Caleb a high five.

Caleb grinned. “Now it’s just down to us and the Blue Team.”

It was Field Day at Westfield Elementary. Colorful balls, buckets, and balloons littered the field. Caleb was on the Red Team with Marcie, Hiro, Alexis, and Emma. They had just defeated the Green Team in a water balloon relay.

“OK, kids,” Coach Garcia called. She looked down at her clipboard. “The last event is the Frisbee toss. Red Team against Blue Team. Whoever wins this, wins it all.”

Everyone on the Red and Blue Teams cheered. Jo smirked at Caleb. “We’re definitely going to beat you guys!”

“We’ll just see about that,” Caleb laughed.

“Yes! We won!” Marcie yelled. She gave Caleb a high five.

Caleb grinned. “Now it’s just us and the Blue Team.”

It was Field Day at Westfield Elementary. Colorful balls and buckets were everywhere. Balloons were all over the field. Caleb was on the Red Team with Marcie, Hiro, Alexis, and Emma. They had just defeated the Green Team in a water balloon relay.

“OK, kids,” Coach Garcia called. She looked down at her clipboard. “The last event is the Frisbee toss. Red Team will play against Blue Team. Whoever wins this game will win all of Field Day.”

Everyone on the Red and Blue Teams cheered. Jo smirked at Caleb. “We are going to beat you guys!”

“We will see about that,” Caleb laughed.

Both teams ran over to the Frisbee toss field. The rest of the students and parent helpers followed, excited to watch.

The field was marked by two rows of cones. A line of duct tape in the grass marked the starting point.

“Here are the rules,” Coach Garcia explained. “You’ll each throw the Frisbee between the lines of cones. If the Frisbee lands out of bounds, you can throw again. When it lands between the cones, one of our parent volunteers will measure the distance of the throw. At the end, we’ll add the distances of each team’s throws. The team with the longest combined total distance will be the winner. Blue Team, choose your first thrower!”

Luis stepped up to the starting line. Coach Garcia handed him a purple Frisbee. He leaned forward, aiming his toss. Then he threw. The Frisbee landed in bounds, close to the end of the field! The Blue Team cheered.

Both teams ran to the Frisbee toss field. The rest of the students and parent helpers followed. They were all excited to watch the game.

Two rows of cones marked the field. A line of duct tape in the grass marked the starting point.

“Here are the rules,” Coach Garcia explained. “You will each throw the Frisbee between the lines of cones. You can throw again if the Frisbee lands out of bounds. The Frisbee will be in bounds when it lands between the cones. One of our parent volunteers will then measure the distance of the throw. We’ll add the distances of each team’s throws at the end. The team with the longest combined total distance will be the winner. Blue Team will throw first!”

Luis stepped up to the starting line. Coach Garcia handed him a purple Frisbee. He leaned forward. He aimed his toss. Then he threw. The Frisbee landed in bounds. It was close to the end of the field! The Blue Team cheered.

“Great throw!” Coach Garcia exclaimed.

Marcie’s mom jogged down the field to measure the distance. She wrote the number on a clipboard, then gave a thumbs-up.

“Red Team, you’re up!” called Coach Garcia.

Alexis stepped up to the line. She readied her toss and let the Frisbee fly. It went even farther than Luis’s! The Red Team cheered. Jo’s dad ran down the course to measure Alexis’s throw. After he gave the thumbs-up, Coach Garcia called for the Blue Team’s next thrower.

“Great throw!” Coach Garcia exclaimed.

Marcie’s mom jogged down the field. She measured the distance Luis threw. Then she wrote the number on a clipboard. She gave a thumbs-up.

“Red Team is next!” called Coach Garcia.

Alexis stepped up to the line. She got ready to throw. Then she let the Frisbee fly. It went even farther than Luis’s! The Red Team cheered. Jo’s dad ran down the field to measure Alexis’s throw. He gave a thumbs-up. Then Coach Garcia called for the Blue Team’s next thrower.

The rest of the teammates made their throws one after the other. After everyone finished, Marcie’s mom and Jo’s dad both brought their measurements to Coach Garcia to calculate the winner.

Jo smiled at Caleb and held out his hand for a shake. “I’m pretty sure you guys won. My second throw was way too short after that first one went out of bounds!”

Caleb was pretty sure the Red Team had won too. Then Coach Garcia announced, “Congratulations, Blue Team! You’re our Field Day champs!”

“Huh?” Caleb and Jo uttered at the same time. Other students and parents were confused too.

The rest of the teammates made their throws. Finally, everyone had thrown. Marcie’s mom and Jo’s dad both brought their measurements to Coach Garcia. She began figuring out the winner.

Jo smiled at Caleb. He held out his hand for Caleb to shake. “I’m pretty sure you guys won. My second throw was way too short after that first one went out of bounds!”

Caleb was pretty sure the Red Team had won too. Then Coach Garcia announced, “Congratulations, Blue Team! You’re our Field Day champs!”

“Huh?” Caleb and Jo asked at the same time. Other students and parents were confused too.

“Looks like there’s a case to solve here,” Caleb mused. “Let’s double-check the scores!”

Both teams made their way to Coach Garcia.

“Can we take a look at those measurements?” Caleb asked politely. Coach Garcia handed him both clipboards.

Caleb looked each list over carefully. Marcie and Jo leaned over his shoulder to look too.

“That’s not right,” Marcie said, pointing to the top of each list. “This list says that Luis threw 111 inches. And this one says Alexis threw 98 inches. But Alexis’s Frisbee definitely went farther than Luis’s!”

“Looks like there’s a case to solve here,” Caleb said. “Let’s check the scores again!”

Both teams walked to Coach Garcia.

“Can we take a look at those measurements?” Caleb asked politely. Coach Garcia handed him both clipboards.

Caleb looked at both lists. Marcie and Jo leaned over his shoulder to look too.

“That’s not right,” Marcie said. She pointed to the top of each list. “This list says that Luis threw 111 inches. This one says Alexis threw 98 inches. But Alexis’s Frisbee went farther than Luis’s!”

“Something isn’t right,” Caleb agreed. He carefully read the measurements on each list. “Aha,” he grinned. “I think I know what happened! Coach Garcia, may I use your pen?”

Caleb made small marks all the way down the Red Team’s list. When he finished, Caleb handed the clipboard back to Coach Garcia.

“Remember to always compare like units of measurement,” Caleb declared with a smile.

Coach Garcia looked at her watch. “Everyone is going to have to wait. I need to do the math again,” she said.

“We can help with that,” Caleb chuckled. “When we’re done, we’ll know who the real winner is!”

“Something is not right,” Caleb agreed. He carefully read the measurements on each list. “Aha,” he grinned. “I think I know what happened! Coach Garcia, may I use your pen?”

Caleb made small marks on the Red Team’s list. Then he handed the clipboard back to Coach Garcia.

“Remember to always compare like units of measurement,” Caleb declared with a smile.

Coach Garcia looked at her watch. “Everyone is going to have to wait. I need to do the math again,” she said.

“We can help with that,” Caleb chuckled. “Then we will know who the real winner is!”