Wolfram Alpha is probably best known as a computational search engine that students can use to get help with math and science problems. But it can also do lots of other helpful things like give customized estimates of the calories you burn while doing activities like walking, hiking, bowling, and playing a variety of lawn games. Of course, it can also do the same for running, swimming, and cycling.
To get an estimate of how many calories you burned during an activity simply head to Wolfram Alpha and type a query like “calories burned walking 4 miles.” Wolfram Alpha will then display a calculator into which you can enter information about yourself to get an estimate tailored to you. The information you can enter includes height, weight, age, resting heart rate, and gender. If you don’t enter that information, Wolfram Alpha will just provide a general estimate.
Watch my short video that is embedded below to see how you can use Wolfram Alpha to estimate the calories you can burn by hiking, running, or swimming.
Wolfram Alpha might not be the first thing you think of if you teach social studies, but it can be quite helpful for quickly generating fact sheets about historical people and events. Watch this short video to see how that is done.