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The High Dive Unit presents us with a situation in which a circus act diver falls
from a rotating Ferris wheel into a tub of water carried by a moving cart. Given the
Ferris wheel dimensions and all the necessary information about the diver and the cart,
we were asked to solve for the exact moment when the assistant should let go of the
diver so he will safely land in the tub of water carried by the moving cart. The
mathematical concepts involved in this unit include the relationship between sine,
cosine, and tangent; polar and rectangular coordinates, and trigonometry identities. This
diagram includes all the original Ferris wheel dimensions, the 50ft radius, 40s period, 3
o¶clock starting position, the 65ft distance from the center to the ground, the 9Û/second
angular speed, the 8ft tall moving cart, and the 240 ft distance the cart is away from the
center of the wheel.

9°/
 100 ft

t = 0 (at 3 o͛ clock)
50 ft
8 ft
65 ft
15 ft
240 ft

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Discovered in the early days of IMP 2 geometry, sine, cosine, and tangent are
trigonometric expressions that correspond to the ratio of one side to another in a right
triangle. Furthermore, in relation to the angle theta within the right triangle, a side is
defined as opposite, adjacent, or hypotenuse (which is always opposite the right angle).
Therefore, sine is defined as opposite over hypotenuse; cosine is equal to adjacent over
hypotenuse; and tangent is defined as the opposite over the adjacent.
In relation to the unit problem, we know that sine describes
the vertical position of the diver at a certain time which is
expressed by the equation:h(t)= 65 + 50sin(9t). Also, we
know that cosine relates to the horizontal position of the
diver at a given time which is expressed in the equation:
x(t)= 50cos(9t). Because the Ferris wheel is constantly rotating in a circle, sine and
cosine are periodic functions:

We know that tan(theta) is also equal to sin(theta)/cos(theta).

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Therefore, tangent is the equal to the sine divided by the cosine.

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Õach point on a plane in the polar-coordinate system is determined by a distance from a

given point (radius) and an angle from that given direction (theta). Rectangular
coordinates are the x and y coordinates in a plane. Therefore, we discovered that there
was a relationship between the polar points (radii, angles) and ordinary points (x,y). In
relation to the Ferris Wheel, if we know the polar coordinates which are the radius of 50
and angular speed multiplied by time (angle), we can solve for the rectangular
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Trigonometric Functions:


r te
sit  nu
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adjacent

Reciprocal identities ( used for calculations):

Pythagorean Identities (these are all the trigonometric version of the Pythagorean
theorem):

A point on the unit circle can be described as (cosĬ,sinĬ), so

the Pythagorean theorem can be used to describe
the first identity.

Second identity is explained as:

The third identity is explained as:


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In this assignment we explored the general vertical distance formula in relation to the
water level at the beach. In relation to the unit problem, we learned how to calculate the
maximum and minimum points regarding certain amounts of time.

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In this assignment, we were asked to describe the diver¶s horizontal position at certain
points in time. We learned that cosine describes the diver¶s horizontal position so we
can use the formula 50cos9t to solve it. 50 represents the radius and 9 is the angular
speed. This was necessary to learn to build up on the formula to solve for the cart¶s
travelling distance.

d(t) = -240 + 15(w+ )

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We further explored the concept of polar and rectangular coordinates in relation to the
Ferris wheel. We developed general expressions for both types of coordinates.

Rectangular coordinates (x,y):

Rsin( ang. speed x time) , rsin(ang.speed x time) + center to grounf=d

Polar coordinates (r, Ĭ):

(r, ang. speed x time)

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This assignment further expressed the relationship between tangent as sinĬ/cosĬ. This
is important because we discovered other ways of expressing the relationships between
x and y in terms of sine, cosine, and radius).
 
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In this assignment we basically figured out the vertical position of the diver when he is
dropped and where the cart will be when the diver hits the water. This is essential
because it is the unit problem.

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I believe that my general understanding of trigonometric functions have improved

since completing this high dive unit. I now understand how sine, cosine, and tangent
relate to the unit circle and are used to describe ratios of a right triangle. I also
understand that these functions are periodic and so they also relate to the unit circle
because a circle¶s circumference is periodic. Furthermore, in geometry, I did not really
know how these functions applied to each other and to real-life situations. For example,
now I know that sine functions are used to describe real-world scenarios such as tide
water levels or the bouncing of a yo-yo. The trig identities such as reciprocal identities
were easy concepts for me to grasp since I am good at solving algebraic expressions.

Throughout this year I feel that the concepts were not that challenging to learn as
long I put in an adequate amount of effort into participating in group/class discussions
and really studying my homework. Overall, I am more comfortable with trigonometry
than I was with geometry because I think of trig as the second level of basic algebra, a
genre of math that I am good at. During this year, my understanding of trig has definitely
grown and so I think I am prepared to take pre-calc next year. What I learned this year
really stuck with me and I am positive that I will be able to apply it in future math
classes.