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River Crossing (Math Exploration Quilt)

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Visit this site: http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/docs/mathexpl/swimwalk.html
Author:Rik Littlefield; Hanford School
Description: You want to cross a river to reach a point exactly opposite where you are currently standing. Explore this problem step-by-step, encountering the following basic ideas: 1) Pythagorean theorem; 2) time = distance / speed; 3) distance = time * speed; 4) sums and differences of distances; and 5) the arcsine function for right triangles (which we didn't really need to solve the problem, just to get the angle expressed in a familiar way).
Levels: Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
Languages: English
Resource Types: Lesson Plans and Activities
Math Topics: Equations, Calendars/Dates/Time, Triangles and Other Polygons, Trigonometry

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