SSC Gifted & Talented

Let’s pull the trigger!

Image credit: coolmath.com

3pm Update:

We had a brilliant and very wet time today. Exploring the tangent function to find the height of buildings around the track, we quickly got to grips with our clinometers to measure the necessary angle. We also made sure that we measured the adjacent distance from the structure to be measured to our feet, as well as noting the height from the floor to our eyes.

We practiced our techniques and calculations around the study centre, making use of trigonometry tables to find the tangent of our measured angles. Some students presented their findings to the to rest of the group to make sure we were all secure in the process. We also realised the importance of having a sensible estimate of a height to act as a check on our outcomes.

We then put our newly acquired skills into practice around the circuit, gathering the necessary information to complete the height calculations over a working lunch back at the Study Centre. It absolutely poured and we were all soaked but despite the inclement conditions, we completed our measurements and had a browse around the paddock at the beautiful classic cars, before returning to finalise the height calculations back at base.

We were generally in rough agreement about the height of the  building/structures that we measured and we agreed that most discrepancies were probably due to the use of trundle wheels to measure the adjacent distances. They gave a margin of error because they weren’t exact enough to the nearest centimeter.