Ferris wheel trig problems

All You Need in One Place

Everything you need for Year 6 maths and science through to Year 13 and beyond.

Learn with Confidence

We’ve mastered the national curriculum to help you secure merit and excellence marks.

Unlimited Help

The best tips, tricks, walkthroughs, and practice questions available.

0/1
?
Examples
Lessons
  1. A Ferris wheel has a radius of 18 meters and a center C which is 20m above the ground. It rotates once every 32 seconds in the direction shown in the diagram. A platform allows a passenger to get on the Ferris wheel at a point P which is 20m above the ground. If the ride begins at point P, when the time t = 0 seconds:
    Applications of sinusoidal functions
    1. Graph how the height h of a passenger varies with respect to the elapsed time t during one rotation of the Ferris wheel. Clearly show at least 5 points on the graph.
    2. Determine a sinusoidal function that gives the passenger's height, h, in meters, above the ground as a function of time t seconds.
    3. How high above the ground would a passenger be 18 seconds after the Ferris wheel starts moving?
    4. How many seconds on each rotation is a passenger more than 30m in the air?