Bryant MATH128 - Pod Racing Worksheet

MATH128 - Pod Racing Worksheet

Trigonometry

Pod racing is a fictional sport seen in the movie Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Against enormous odds, young Anakin Skywalker wins the Boonta Eve Classic Pod Race on the Mos Espa pod racing circuit. Below is a simulated drawing of the Mos Espa pod racing circuit. (An actual drawing of the Mos Espa circuit can be found in Inside the World of Star Wars Episode 1 by Kristin Lund.)

The Star Wars pod race was won by Anakin Skywalker traveling at an average speed of 536 miles per hour. Six other racers also finished the race. Numerous other racers also started the race but did not finish due to mechanical problems, collisions, crashes, vaporizations or disappearances. (Pod race information can be found in Inside the World of Star Wars Episode 1 by Kristin Lund or at Wikipedia.)

Pod Racing Worksheet Directions: Each of the following problems is based upon the simulated pod race circuit seen above. Answers are to be rounded to the nearest foot. It may be necessary to use answers from previous problems to find the solutions to questions 2 and 3. Rounded answers may be used. Be sure to show all work.

Pod Racing Worksheet

Questions: 1. Tonto Pagalies (brother to vaporized racer Teento), an observer at Bindy Bend, is 14285’ from Desert Plain. He knows that there is a right angle between the lines of sight from Bindy Bend to Desert Plain and from Desert Plain to Beggar’s Canyon. He also observes the angle between Desert Plain and Beggar’s Canyon to be 22º18’.

a) Find the line of sight distance from Desert Plain to Beggar’s Canyon.

b) Find the line of sight distance from Beggar’s Canyon to Bindy Bend.

2. On the map, the distance from Bindy Bend to Mos Espa Arena is 9650’, and the lines of sight from Bindy Bend to Beggar’s Canyon and from Bindy Bend to Mos Espa Arena make an angle of 112º10’. Find the line of sight distance from Beggar’s Canyon to Mos Espa Arena using Law of Cosines. 

3. Notice on the map that Mushroom Mesa is on the line of sight from Beggar’s Canyon to Mos Espa Arena. Tonto, still sitting at Bindy Bend, observes the angle of sight between Mushroom Mesa and Mos Espa Arena to be 79º. His friend, Mawhonic, -- who crashed at Mushroom Mesa on the first lap -- observes the angle of sight between Mos Espa Arena and Bindy Bend to be 58º16’.

a) Find the line of sight distance from Mushroom Mesa to Mos Espa Arena.

b) Find the line of sight distance from Beggar’s Canyon to Mushroom Mesa.

 c) Find the line of sight distance from Mushroom Mesa to Bindy Bend, using Law of Sines.

4. As the pod racers pass through Devil’s Doorknob (flying perpendicular to the ground), they encounter a long straightaway to Mos Espa Arena, across Hutt Flats, a distance of 9286’. On Lap 1, Neva Kee covered this distance in exactly 6 seconds. Find the speed at which Neva Kee was traveling, in miles per hour. (This answer might also explain what happened on lap 2, when he left the circuit, and is still missing!)