Math 1060 Signature Assignment 1

Torin Chadburn
Math 1060 Signature Assignment
As you know, in the construction of this highway we have come across a bay along our
path. It has been determined that a bridge would be too costly and so we must navigate around
it instead. You were provided with one possible option to approve, but upon further
consideration we have come across another solution worth looking into. To evaluate this
solution we must examine the lengths of each proposal.
In order to find the length of the road in the current proposal, and thus evaluate its cost,
we begin by creating a visual representation of the proposal with labeling that will allow us to
solve for the unknowns.
Angles: Sides:
A: 155° c: ?
B: ? d: ?
C: ? b: ?
D: ? f: ?
E: ? e: ?
F: ? g: 1mi
G: ? x: 4mi
H: 130° y: ?
Angles A and H, and sides g and x are provided by the current proposal. We can quickly
determine the length of b to be 1 mile as it is congruent to g, and the angles F and C are both
right angles and therefore 90 degrees. Angle B is supplementary to angle A and as such, if we
subtract the known angle of A at 155 degrees from 180 degrees we can find angle B to be 25
degrees. G and H have a similar relationship and the same can be done there to find that G has
an angle of 50 degrees. Now, having two of the three angles of each of the triangles, and
knowing that the interior angles of all triangles add up to 180 degrees, we can find angle D to be
65 degrees and angle E to be 40 degrees.
According to the law of sines, the sine of an angle over the length of the side opposite it,
or the length of a side over the sine of its opposite angle, is equal to the same ratio of any other
point in the triangle. As such, knowing that the length of b divided by the sine of angle B is equal
to the length of d divided by the sine of angle D, we can use algebra to find that side length d is
equal to the sine of 65° divided by the sine of 25°. This comes out to about 2.145 miles. This
same law can be used to find the length of c at ~2.366mi, e at ~0.839mi, and f at ~1.305mi. The
only unknown left now is y, and this can be found by subtracting both e and d from x, giving a
result of ~1.016mi. Having found the unknowns we can fill out our chart to get this.
Angles: Sides:
A: 155° c: 2.366201583mi
B: 25° d: 2.144506921mi
C: 90° b: 1mi
D: 65° f: 1.305407289mi
E: 40° e: 0.839099631mi
F: 90° g: 1mi
G: 50° x: 4mi
H: 130° y: 1.016393448mi
Now all we have left to do to determine the length of this road is add sides c, f, and y, which
gives us a length of 4.68800232 miles.
It is possible to decrease the total length of road required for this project by following an
alternative proposal. If the lengths of d an e are each increased by 2 miles while y is left
constant the resulting road will have less total length. This can be proven by comparing the
length of this new proposal to the length of the original with the additional 4 miles taken into
consideration. The length of the new proposal can be found by using the pythagorean theorem
to find the new lengths of hypotenuses f and c from the known lengths of b, g, d2, and e2. This
results in a c2 of 4.263441992mi, and a f2 of 3.010064238mi. When these are added to the
unchanged y length the resulting length is 8.289899678mi. When the additional 4 miles
traversed by the second are added to the length of the first we get a length of 8.68800232 miles.
These numbers can then be compared to show that the second proposal is 0.398102642 miles
shorter than the first.
Due to the shorter distance of our second proposal we would recommend that it be
chosen over the first. It crosses a longer distance with less material allowing for a lower overall
cost. We also believe our second proposal to be superior to others that might further shorten
length. Due to the nature of how our second proposal differs from the first it is possible to
infinitely scale this solution, however, this is not recommended because as it is scaled a larger
proportion of the road becomes farther from the shoreline, this can cause increases to building
costs by requiring potentially more clearing of foliage than is required closer to the coast, and
more dramatic restructuring and flattening of land. Cutting farther inland also has the potential to
damage or destroy habitats, and it limits the view of the ocean from the road.
Mathematics is a wonderful tool for carefully analyzing problems dealing in quantitative

data. It allows for accurate comparison of data sets and provides ways of finding and showing
relationships between them. Math allows one to see small differences that are meaningful but
might otherwise be overlooked, and it is a great tool for finding information one might be unable
to discover otherwise, such as the distances between stars or the height of a tree.

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Torin Chadburn

Math 1060 Signature Assignment

Mathematics is a wonderful tool for carefully analyzing problems dealing in quantitative

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