Question
A ferris wheel 30 meters high turns counterclockwise at a uniform rate of 3 revolutions per minute. Find the rate of change in the altitude (h) of a passenger at the instant when they are located at point P. Use the fact that
radians at that instant. Specify the units of your result.
Ferris wheel rotates counterclockwise.
Hints
[show]Hint 1
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Use the fact that 1 revolution is radians to write down a statement about
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[show]Hint 2
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What is the radius of the ferris wheel? Can you express the coordinates of the point P in terms of that radius and a trigonometric function of the angle ?
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[show]Hint 3
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Use the chain rule to relate to .
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Solutions
[show]Solution
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= 3 revolutions per minute radians per minute=constant
The radius of the wheel is meters.
We label the diagram so that we can relate the height to the angle. Then
Heights labeled on the ferris wheel diagram.
The height of the passenger above the ground is given by:
.
Hence,
We substitute in the angles and at that given instant and simplify:
m/min.
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