Eddieanderick

Name: Eddie Partner (s): Erick Period: 1
Mathematical Exploration of S
TAIRS
Introduction:
This activity concerns the mathematics involved in the design of a flight of stairs. The purpose of the activity

is to understand that slope describes steepness and is defined as rise over run using stairs as real-world
examples of slope. At the end of this activity, you will be answer the following question: How could you
mathematically describe the steepness of a set of stairs?
Important vocabulary to know when describing stairs:

Tread: The tread is the actual step, the part that your foot rests on while going up the flight. It is the
horizontal distance that you step on
Riser: The riser is the board that holds one step above another. And this is the vertical distance that you step
on.
Each step will consist of a tread and a riser. It is possible to measure both the tread and the riser of a set of
stairs. In addition, the total run and the total rise of a flight of stairs are the important facts that help
determine its steepness or slope. Here, the total run is the total horizontal (tread) length of the stairs and the
total rise is the total vertical (riser) length of the stairs.
Tasks:
You will choose and observe 3 sets of stairs around the school out of the following four options of stair locations.
Location #1: Stairs in front of the library

that rises up from 2nd to 3rd floor
Location #2: Stairs near the cafeteria by the auditorium
Location #3: Stairs behind the auditorium
Location #4: Stairs by the middle school (the one that everyone takes to get to class)

By following the guideline listed in Part II, measure the steepness or slope of each flight of stairs. Then
compare to find the flight of stairs that is the steepest out of the three stairs you observed.
Part I: Brainstorming
Before we begin collecting data to figure out which of several flights of stairs around our school is the
steepest, please answer the following questions to begin brainstorming our ideas.
1. How do you think we can measure the steepness of a set of stairs or ramp?
We think we can measure the steepness or each stairs by using rulers to figure out the
length of risers and treads
2. Based on the pictures of flights of stairs from four different locations shown in class, which one do you
think would be the steepest? And why do you think that is the steepest?
We think location# 4 is the steepest mostly because its a two stairs and theres more treads
and risers than the other locations.
Part II: Data Collection
The 3 locations my partner(s) and I chose:
1.Location#1
2. Location#3
3. Location#4
Location of # of Length of # of Length of Fractional Decimal

Stairs Riser each Riser Tread each Tread TOTAL RISE TOTAL RUN Slope Slope
(choose 3) s (RISE) s (RUN) (rise/run)
Example:
246.9 = 165.6 249.4 = 225.6 166 83
Location 24 6.9 in. 24 9.4 in. 226 = 113 0.73
About 166 About 226
#1
99 33
1 18 5.5 18 12.8 5.5x18=99 18x12.8=230.4 230.4 = 76.8 = 3.3
71.5
4 13 5.5 13 12 5.5x13=156 13.12=156 156 = 35.75
78 3.575
33 11
3 6 5.5 6 11.4 6x11.4=68.4 6x11.4=68.4 68.4 = 22.8 1.1
Part III: Data Analysis
1. Which of the flights of stairs is the steepest out of the three you measured? (You can give the location
number) And how do you know?
The steepest flight of stair was Location #4 ,which is because it has more steps since its a
two stair and the length of each riser is bigger than the other amount of risers that we got on
the other stairs
2. How did you calculate the slope of each flight of stairs from three different locations?
We calculated the slope of each flight of stairs by using the inch side of the ruler to find the
height of each riser and counted the treads.
3. Was the ratio of the RISE to the RUN ( rise

run ) of the entire staircase the same as that of each step? Explain
your answer.
Yes, the ratio is the same for one step and for the entire staircase because they both have the slope of
0.429.
Slope of one step was calculated by dividing 5.5 by 12.8 and this was 0.429
Slope of the entire staircase was calculated by dividing 99 by 230.4 and this was also 0.429
4. Based on this activity, how can we mathematically describe the steepness of a set of stairs?
We can mathematically figure out the steepness of stairs by measuring the treads and risers
to figure out how many there are and how tall they are.

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Name: Eddie Partner (s): Erick Period: 1

Important vocabulary to know when describing stairs:

Location of # of Length of # of Length of Fractional Decimal

3. Was the ratio of the RISE to the RUN ( rise

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