Math 3A Winter 2012 -2013 Trigonometry Project The Bay School

Name: Partners:

Project Guidelines: Phase 0 Choose one problem from each section to explore. You should complete a total of three problems, one from each content standard. You may choose to do additional problems if time permits; additional credit for extra problems may be available (but is not guaranteed). Phase 1 Data Collection. You may work with a partner or partners to collect data. This means that you can work as a team to take measurements. The measurement phase will necessarily involve some discussion of what approach will be used to solve the problem at hand. This is acceptable. Phase 2 Problem Solution. You may discuss problem solutions with your group, and may spend class time working on the solutions to the problems. However, you may not exchange any written notes with your partners. It is critical that you understand the solutions, because you will need to fully explain how and why you used each process in your paper. Phase 3 Write-up. The final product of this project should be an individual paper. The format for each problem should include: Answer the question in a clear, concise, complete sentence A clear, well-documented solution process which includes: how you took the measurements, why you used the equations that you used, diagrams, graphs and/or tables where necessary, symbolic math Discuss the accuracy of your solution, addressing the following: Does your answer seem correct? Why or why not? What elements of your measuring procedure might have made the process inaccurate? You can either type or handwrite your work, with the following guidelines for presentation: Include diagrams and equations You do not need to explain the math that you are doing (showing the math with symbols only is enough)

Academic Honesty: You may only take measurements, strategize, and think about problem solutions with your partners. You may not solicit help from anyone except your teacher in actually completing your write-up. You may not exchange written notes with your partners. You may not solicit help from or give help to anyone, including your partners, during the write-up phase of the project. Timeline: Begin project (in class): Thursday, 1/31 Finish data collection (in class): Friday, 2/1

Final Write-Up of project due: Thursday, 2/7

Right Triangle Trigonometry 1) Determine the height of the schools chimney. Go into the courtyard and stand on the basketball court. Face towards the Great Room and look up. You should see a cylindrical chimney. Find the vertical distance between the top of the chimney and the metal grating in front of the doors that lead from the courtyard into the dining hall. You may take any measurements you need to, but you must stay within the courtyard, and you may only measure with a tape measure/meter stick and a clinometer (see below). A clinometer is a device that can be used to measure angles of inclination and depression. Your teacher has a clinometer for you to borrow during this problem set. In your problem set writeup, make sure to explain how you obtained your angle from the clinometer, and which angle it represents in your diagram.

2) Determine the legality of our wheelchair ramp. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides specific regulations for how steep a wheelchair ramp can be. Go online and find out what these guidelines are. Go into the schools courtyard. There is a wheelchair ramp outside the door next to the basketball court. (The ramp in question runs perpendicular to the building from the door towards the chain link fence.) Using only a tape measure or yardstick, determine the measure of the angle created by the ramp.

Ferris Wheel Model 3) Lombard Street & Vermont Street: Which is the Crooked-ist? San Franciscos Lombard Street is known for being the most crooked street in the world. But is it? Little known Vermont Street, in Potrero Hill, is also in the running for this title. Create a trig model each street using a sine or cosine graph and decide which street is the winner!

4) Model the motion of a pendulum. Using our clinometer, we also create a pendulum. Collect data to determine the vertical horizontal directed distance of a pendulum released at a fixed angle. Measure the time it takes for the pendulum to complete full cycle [Hint: it may be easier to measure the time for several cycles and then divide by the number of cycles.]

can and one

Vary the angle you release the pendulum from, and plot all of the models on the same set of axes. What similarities and differences do you notice about the directed distances and the cycle length when the angle changes?

Trigonometric Laws 5) Alien Invasion: A radar station on the roof of the school tracks UFOs by sweeping out a path through the sky. The radar beam rotates through its full 180 range in 30 seconds. Last night, the radar station first identified a UFO when the aircraft was 15000 feet away, as measured by the radar beam. After transiting 5, the station takes another reading on the UFO, this time calculating by radar beam that the UFO is 21000 feet from the station. What was the UFOs speed in miles per hour, assuming it was traveling with a constant velocity and in a straight line? [It may help to know that there are 5280 feet in one mile].

21000 ft

15000 ft 5

6) Measure the distance to the Alexa Internet building . Alexa is the long building directly across the street from the front of the main school building. Go out the front door, next to Elizabeths desk, then walk along the sidewalk to the center doorway (the ones with the emergency exit alarm). Without leaving the elevated concrete platform outside that center doorway, take the necessary measurements to calculate the distance to the Alexa building. You may use measuring tape, meter sticks, and protractors for this task. For those students wanting an additional challenge: use your calculations of distance to help you find the length of the Alexa building.