Pedro Flores - Yo-Yo The history of the yo-yo and how it came to be actually dates back much further

than Pedro Flores involvement with the much-loved toy. Indeed it has been a favourite of children (and adults alike) not just in our modern history but in ancient history as well. elieved to have ori!inated in "hina# the first historical mention of the $yo-yo was from %reece in the year &'' .". The object was a disc made out of wood# metal or (ainted terra cotta and was literally called a $disc. Paintin!s from ancient )!y(tian tem(les also de(ict yo-yo like objects. *+th century hunters from the Phili((ines hid in trees with shar( rocks attached to ,' foot lon! (ieces of ro(e# to throw at wild animals (assin! by underneath. This was linked to a (o(ular Fili(ino toy- the bandalore# that initially led Pedro Flores to start his successful yo-yo com(any. There are also records from the *.th century of yo-yo like toys used bein! used (mainly by u((er class aristocracy) in /cotland# India (*0+&)# France (*0.1) and )n!land (*01*). 2a(oleon and his !enerals were seen (layin! with their yo-yos before the famous attle of 3aterloo in *.*&. The yo-yo was first recorded in the 4nited /tates in *.++ with a (atent for 5an im(roved bandalore6. In *1*+ the /cientific 7merican /u((lement (ublished an article titled 5Fili(ino Toys6 which showed and named a bandalore a $yo-yo. This was a Fili(ino word that meant 5come-come6 or 5to- return6. Pedro Flores is seen as the father of the yo-yo because he was the first (erson to realise its true marketin! (otential and started the 8o-8o 9anufacturin! "om(any : the first lar!e scale o(eration of its kind in *1,.. orn in ;intar# Ilocos 2orte# Philli(ines# Flores moved to the 4nited /tates in *1*&. <e was well educated in "ommerce and =aw however came u( with the idea of marketin! the yo-yo whilst workin! as a bell boy. Flores read an article about a self-made millionaire who made his money by sellin! a rubber ball attached to a rubber band and remembered his childhood (layin! with a bandalore which had been a (o(ular !ame in the Philli(ines for hundreds of years. 7fter four years of (roducin! yo-yos Flores sold his com(any to ar!uably the most famous yo-yo (roducer 5>uncan6 for ?,&'# ''' which was a !reat deal of money in the *1@'s. <e continued to work for the >uncan "om(any (romotin! yo-yos. Flores never claimed to be the inventor of yo-yos and had a dee( (assion for the ha((iness the toy he made (o(ular brou!ht to children. In *1+, >uncan sold A&million yo-yos# which is amaBin! as there were only A'million children in the 4nited /ates at that time. The ideal len!th for a yo-yo de(ends on your hei!ht# the strin! should be no hi!her than your waist and modern yo-yos are available in endless desi!ns and confi!urations which allow for lon! or short s(ins.

Questions *. 7ssume we consider the 7ncient %reeks as the first to create a $yo-yo in &'' .". <ow many years later did Pedro Flores start his 8o-8o 9anufacturin! "om(anyC ,. <ow lon! had the 5Im(roved andalore6 been (atented in the 4nited /tates before Pedro Flores arrived in *1*&C @. If the circumference of your yo-yo was ,&cm how far would it travel if you rolled it across the floor and it didi. . revolutionsC ii. 10 revolutionsC A. The maDimum len!th for a yo-yo strin! should be +'E of your body hei!ht if you are to (erform tricks effectively. 9easure yourself and a friend with a ta(e measure. i. ii. iii. iv. <ow lon! can your yo-yo strin! beC <ow lon! can your friends strin! beC 3hat is the difference in your strin! len!thsC "ould you make a yo-yo for you and your friend with *m of strin!C <ow much strin! would you have left over or how much eDtra would you needC

&. If money is worth @' times more in ,'*' com(ared to *1@,# how much would Flores have made sellin! his com(any to >uncan todayC +. Fesearch (in kilometres)- the circumference of the )arth - the distance to the moon - the distance to the sun If >uncan sold A&million yo-yos in *1+, and all of these yo-yos had a strin! len!th of 1'cm i. <ow many times would the strin!s wra( around the )arth if they were all tied to!etherC (3ithout considerin! the len!th of strin! in each knot). ii. 3ould the len!th of the strin! reach the moonC iii. "ould the strin! reach the /unC <ow much more strin! is neededC (%ive your answer in kilometres) iv. <ow many more yo-yos would >uncan need strin! to reach the /unC 7re there enou!h human bein!s on )arth to sell this manyC

How will this worksheet be used in the classroom? 7 study of the history of the yo-yo and Pedro Flores involvement contains links to </I) (ancient and modern history) in terms of how (eo(le have s(ent their recreational time throu!hout history. This may also be tied in with a study of the science of yo-yos lookin! at what makes them s(in for eDam(le (sin!le-loo( as o((osed to double-loo(# rim-wei!htin! etc.). In terms of mathematical conce(ts covered# students are asked to com(lete a series of Guestions based on the information in the syno(sis of Pedro Flores and the yo-yo as well as !oin! further by researchin! usin! books or the internet to answer Guestions involvin! multi-ste( mathematical (roblems. Huestion * is a sim(le $warm-u( Guestion however reGuires students to consider the term $ .".. /tudents must understand that to obtain the answer they need to add &'' and *1,.# a sim(le eGuation that only reGuires one $carry. /tudents may be tricked by the fact they need to add &'' .". to the year *1,. due to it bein! $ efore "hrist i.e. before the year '. Huestion , is a relatively sim(le subtraction Guestion askin! to find the difference between two dates# students may have trouble $borrowin! as it occurs at every sta!e of the (roblem. Huestion @ contains two multi(lication Guestions usin! * and , di!its res(ectively. 7n eDtension could be made to ask students to find the circumference of a yo-yo they have brou!ht in and re(eat the Guestion. Huestion A is a harder Guestion as it asks students to consider their own hei!ht and that of a friend to work out what +'E of their body hei!ht is. This involves multi(lication usin! a decimal (oint and is more of a true (roblem as each answer is different and they must fi!ure out if they will have enou!h strin! to make two yo-yos. Huestion & is another multi(lication Guestion this time involvin! numerous di!its (i.e. @' D ,&'# '''). /tudents may have trouble with the amount of Beros used. Huestion + is an eDtension Guestion reGuirin! research to find out lar!e distances and then a((lyin! mathematical eGuations to work out some very difficult sums. /tudents may be !iven the o(tion to use a calculator here. Part i.) reGuires students to convert centimetres to kilometres before usin! division to work out how many times the strin! would wra( around )arth. Part ii.) Is relatively sim(le as based on their research they may use (art of their workin! out from (art i.) to see that the strin! is the same len!th as the distance to the moon. Part iii.) is a relatively sim(le subtraction involvin! lar!e numbers. Part iv.) would really !et students to think# they will ho(efully understand that if A&million yo-yos have a strin! len!th of A'&#'''km then they can use their answer from (art iii.) to find out how many units of A&million yo-yos are needed to make u( the eDtra distance (i.e. *A.#0.0#.1,I A'&#'' J @+0units). 9ulti(lyin! this by A&million will !ive them the answer. References - <i!h /chool 9ath Project. (4nknown). The Yo-Yo Problem. Fetrieved .I.I*' from -

www.(bs.or!IteachersImathlineIlesson(lansI(dfIhsm(Iyoyo.(df Kliver# ;. (*11+). History of the Yo-yo. Fetrieved .I.I*' from htt(LIIwww.s(intastics.comI//Thistyo.html Bellis, M. (Unknown). Pedro Flores. Fetrieved .I.I*' from htt(LIIinventors.about.comIodIhis(anicinventorsIaIPedroMFlores.htm

Answers 1.) *1,. N &'' ,A,. years !.) i.) ,&cm D . ,''cm

.) *1*& *.++ ''A1 years ii.) ,&cm D 10 *0& ,,&' ,A,&cm ii.) (For a (erson 1&cm tall) 1& D '.+ &0.'cm i#.) 0, N &0 *,1cm *,1*'' ,1cm

".) i.) (For a (erson *,'cm tall) *,' D '.+ 0,.'cm iii.) 0,&1 *&cm $.)

,&'#''' D @' 0#&''#'''

%.) "ircumference of the )arthL A'#'''km >istance to the moonL A'&#'''km >istance to the /unL *A1#*1,#.1,km i.) A&#'''#''' D 1'cm A#'&'#'''#'''(cm) A#'&'#'''#'''I*'' J A'#&''#'''(m) A'#&''#'''I*''' J A'#&''(km) A'#&'' I A'#''' J *.'*,& times. ii.) iii.) 2o. 2o.

iv.)

*A1#*1,#.1,A'#&'' *A1#*&,#@1,(km) If there is A'#&''km of strin! in A&million yo-yos then*A1#*&,#@1, I A'#&'' J @+.,.. (units of A&million yo-yos) Therefore- A&#'''#''' D @+.,.. *+&#0,+#'''#'''

2o# there are only a((roDimately 0billion (eo(le on )arth.