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Section 1

1. Section 1

1.18. Explore 3

Mathematics 20-3 Module 3

Section 1: Slope—Physical Objects

 

These are graphics of one snowmobiler going up a mountain (right) and one snowmobile being driven down a mountain (left).
Share 2

 

Ninety-five percent of avalanches occur on mountains with slopes between and .

 

With a partner or with a group of people, discuss the following questions:

  1. Is an avalanche likely to occur in the right graphic? Explain.
  1. Is an avalanche likely to occur in the left graphic? Explain.

course folder Save a summary of your conclusions to your course folder.

 

Did You Know?

The sides of the Egyptian pyramids had to be built at a specific, constant slope or these structures would collapse on themselves.

 

This is a photo of the three Egyptian pyramids at Giza.

Photodisc/Thinkstock


 

This is a picture of connected chrome plumbing pipes.

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

 

Look at the partial diagram of pipes to the right. The water could flow

  • vertically (red arrow)
  • in a loop where it would flow horizontally and vertically (blue arrow)
  • horizontally (green arrow)

Calculate the slope of the blue, red, and green lines. Are any of the lines more challenging to calculate than others?

 

You may have found it challenging to calculate the slope of the green horizontal line since there was no rise to measure. The run may have been hard to measure for the red line.

 

Try This 3

 

This play button opens the roller coaster activity.

Explore the Roller Coaster activity, which describes the slope of a car on a roller coaster. Pay attention to where the slope is equal to zero or undefined.