A Dream Vacation: Courtesy of Vectors and Google Earth
You are headed on a dream vacation! Start at Manchester, and zoom around the globe using Google Earth in the North Lab. At least one place must be south of the equator. As you travel (on at least five stops), keep track of the latitude and longitude for each place, and create a scrapbook of activities and interesting highlights (You can print photos, and please write down 2 or 3 observations for each place. Ask other classmates who scrapbook for ideas...Note the length and the angle of each leg of your trip. You must resolve this into component vectors.
NOTE: You can take a partner on your trip, but the component vectors and the reflection must be done individually.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- When you are finished, determine the net displacement from Manchester to your last location. Include a vector heading. Compare this to the value created by your component vectors. DO THEY MATCH? WHY or WHY NOT?
- Reflection questions that must be answered INDIVIDUALLY on the back of one of the graph sheets.
b) Based on the component vectors and the curvature of the earth, could we easily determine a scale where 1cm = _____ miles. Why or why not?
c) How does a GPS use vector determinations as it calculates location? Did this give you any unexpected results? Explain.
d) Give three examples where a vector must be exact to the nearest mm.
e) Give three examples where a vector must be exact to the nearest m.
f) Give three examples where a vector must be exact to the nearest km.
g) Given what you have learned about vectors, when are scale drawings useful? When should you switch from a paper map to a digital device?
h) What did you learn during this project?