At 01:18 PM 11/20/1998 EST, you wrote:
>Harlan,
>
>I was checking your calculations, and I realized you used Gradians instead of
>Degrees for your calculations of Sine and Cosine.
>
>Using my calculations:
>
>If the angle of decline from horizontal is 15 degrees, and the height of the
>center of the headlight is 2 feet, the distance of the horizontal feet in
>front of the car that the center of the beam will hit is equal to:
>2(Tangent(90*-15*))= 7.464 feet. The length of the Hypotenuse is equal to:
>2/(Cosine(90*-15*)=7.727 feet.
>
>Now, to check my work, the Pythagorean Theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2
>if a = 2 feet,
> b = 7.464 feet,
> c = 7.727 feet.
>
>2^2 + 7.464^2 =? 7.727^2
> 4 + 55.71 =? 59.71
> 59.71 = 59.71
>
>Not meaning to be rude or bomb the list, but being a Computer Science Major
>with a Math Minor, and currently suffering through Calculus II, I love to
take
>the time to revert to things much simpler, such as Trigonometry, and my '77
>MGB!
>
>And now a question: All through school, I wondered if all that math was
>relevant to the outside world.
>How many true, real life calculations of this type is one forced to make in
>one's life?
42
**********************************************************************
Dr. Bill Saidel
Assoc. Prof. Vocal phone (609) 225-6336
Department of Biology FAX (609) 225-6312
Science Building email: saidel@crab.rutgers.edu
315 Penn St.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Camden, NJ 08102 -1411
http://crab.rutgers.edu/~saidel/saidel.html
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