# Pre Calc Question

• October 4th 2012, 10:40 AM
UWM120
Pre Calc Question
An amusement park Ferris Wheel has a radius of 70 feet. The center of the wheel is mounted on a tower 72 feet above the ground (see picture). For these questions, the wheel is not turning.

Attachment 25045

1. Suppose a rider is located at the point in the picture, 100 feet above the ground. If the rider drops an ice cream cone straight down, where will it land on the ground? (Round your answer to one decimal place as needed.)

How would I go about finding the (x,y) coordinate of where it will land?
Thank you!
• October 4th 2012, 11:37 AM
HallsofIvy
Re: Pre Calc Question
Taking the center of the wheel to be the origin, the positive y- axis upward, the positive x- axis to the right, and one foot as the unit in both x and y directions, the equation of the wheel is $x^2+ y^2= 70^2$. The ground is 72 feet below the center of the wheel so it is y= -72. 100 feet above the ground is y= 100- 72= 28. What is x when y= 28? There are two answers to that but both give the same distance from base.