Road Grade

Section 1.3
Question 89

You are driving on a road that has a
6% uphill grade. This means that the slope of the road is 6/100. Approximate the amount of vertical change in your position when you drive 200 feet.

1. Can you set this up for me?
2. Must I use rise/run here?
3. Can trigonometry be used to approximate the amount of vertical change?

 

an equation using the given slope is

y=(6/100)x.......simplify
y=(3/50)x

for x=200
y=(3/50)200
y=12->the amount of vertical change in your position when you drive 200 feet

 

Sorry but what exactly does "y=12->the amount of vertical change in your position" really mean? There are two more threads unanswered. You don't need to answer tonight.

 

the amount of vertical change in your position means the change in y value as you go further from starting point (which is origin on that graph)
imagine a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building, the amount of vertical change in your position will be a height between 1st and 2nd floor

 

I see.