PreCalculus Unit 5 Project

Mediterranean Immigrant Rescue Mission

Trigonometry and Vectors
Background
In recent years, increasing numbers of immigrants are crossing the
Mediterranean Sea, fleeing war, oppression and poverty in North Africa and
the Middle East for a better life in Europe. 2015 saw the highest number of
migrants crossing this body of water: 1,008,616. Last year, 3,771 people
perished or went missing making this journey. Read more about the
immigrant crisis in the Mediterranean by following the links below.
http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/03/25/393557932/a-couple-spendstheir-millions-to-save-migrants-in-the-mediterranean
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drownedsyrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2015/08/06/3688206/migrant-mediterraneandeaths-surpass-2000/?scrlybrkr

Your Mission
You are based on the island of Malta. Your ship, The ________________, has a
mission to rescue as many migrants at sea as possible and return to Malta in
the next 48 hours. Right now, there are four boats overloaded with migrants,
in danger of capsizing. If Malta is at the origin, (0, 0), then the four boats
have the following positions and contain the following number of people in
danger: Boat A at (7, 5) with 34 people; Boat B at (-4, 3) with 27 people;
Boat C at (-5, -8) with 59 people; and Boat D at (3, -7) with 26 people. Each
unit in your coordinate system represents 10 nautical miles. Your ship
travels an average of 15 knots (nautical miles per hour), not considering
wind. Once your ship arrives at each boat, the rescue takes about 1
minute/person. Your ship can safely hold no more than 100 passengers at a
time. If you are in danger of overloading, you may return to Malta at any
time to unload your passengers, which takes about 30 minutes. It is a calm
day at sea, so the currents are negligible. The winds are blowing from the
south at 10 knots. It is 6:00 am on Thursday. Your ship must arrive back to
Malta with your last load of passengers no later than 6:00 am on Saturday. Is
there a way to save passengers from all four boats before that time?

Calculations Component
You must chart your course, explaining to which Boats you travel in which
order. For each section of your 24-hour voyage, you must do the following
calculations:

Determine the distance you must travel to arrive at each ship.

Determine what your heading needs to be to travel from each location
to the next (ex. N 47 E or simply 47, clockwise from due north).
Determine your adjusted heading taking wind into consideration.
From your adjusted heading, calculate the amount of time it takes to
travel to each new destination.
State the time you will return to Malta with your last load of passengers
and how many total people you rescued.

Written Component

Name your ship. How did you choose this name?

Explain your approach. How did you decide which Boat to rescue first?
Second, etc? What factors did you consider? What was your priority?
What aspects of this mission are not entirely realistic? What other
factors might you have to take into consideration navigating your ship
in a real rescue situation?
There will be a self- and peer-evaluation component for the project.

Bonus Points

Make an aesthetically pleasing visual representation of your rescue

mission. You can use graph paper, a model, or whatever else might
best illustrate your work.