If Dilophosaurus ran the 100-meter against Usain Bolt, who would win?

Enlarge / University of Toledo physicist Scott Lee came up with the exercise to inspire undergrads in his introductory physics course. (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

The early Jurassic dinosaurs known as Dilophosaurus proved to be scene stealers in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, taking out a full-grown man who thought they were just cute, harmless critters-right until they disabled him by spitting venom into his eyes. But how would Dilophosaurus fare in a different kind of contest: racing the 100-meter dash against eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt? It wouldn't be much of a fight-Bolt would easily beat the 900-pound beast by a good two seconds.

That's the conclusion of physicist Scott Lee of the University of Toledo, based on a physics exercise he developed for his undergraduate students in introductory physics. Lee has loved dinosaurs ever since he was a kid, when he would hunt for fossils with his family, and he has brought that love into the classroom. "One big issue in physics education is to generate student enthusiasm for the course material," he said. "These dinosaur problems really spark a lot of interest among the students." He described his pedagogical process in a new paper published in The Physics Teacher.

Bolt made his mark on history in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, when he broke his own world record in the 100-meter final, blazing past the competition to win the gold with a time of 9.69 seconds. He was so far ahead of the pack-the silver medalist finished in 9.89 seconds-that Bolt visibly slowed down in celebration right at the finish. Had he kept running at full speed, Bolt would have finished in 9.52 seconds, his coach estimated. This conclusion was borne out by an analysis by physicists at the University of Oslo, whose calculations predicted a finish in about 9.55 seconds.

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