What would be the best way to measure a flag pole using only a protractor and reference object? ?
Objective: Determine the height of one of the flagpoles in front of the student center using
only the paper protractor provided and your measurement of the height of some reference
object.
Rules:
1. No touching the flagpole!
2. No getting anyone else to touch the flagpole for you!
3. You may cut out the paper protractor but you are not permitted to modify it or add
additional things to it (e.g. sticks, strings, weights, fire truck ladders, etc.)
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|
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Tags: fire truck, flagpole, flagpoles, measurement, objective, protractor, weights
November 7th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Your reference object should be within sight of the flagpole on level ground. Assuming this to be the case do the following:
1. go to the base of the flagpole and measure the angle from the ground to the top of the reference object. Call this angle R.
2. go to the reference object and do the same as in 1 with respect to the top of the flagpole. Call this angle P.
3. Using the following conventions:
D = distance between reference object and flagpole (unknown)
H = height of reference object (known)
F = height of flagpole (to be determined)
R and P are defined above.
We can write:
tan(R) = H/D and tan(P) = F/D
Solve each for D:
D = H/tan(R) and D = F/tan(P)
Now equate the Ds:
H/tan(R) = F/tan(P)
F = H*[tan(P)/tan(R)]
Since you know H, P and R you can easily calculate F
November 7th, 2009 at 2:14 am
I think you need to be able to measure a distance on the ground from the flag pole to the reference object.
Now if you know that distance, you can site with the protractor to find the angle that lines up the top of the reference object to the top of the flag pole.
F = Flag Pole Height
R = Refenence Height
X = Distance from flag pole to reference
A = angle measured
Tan(A) = (F-R) / X
Solve for F.