Question

A river starts at an elevation (height) of 110 meters above sea level. Five kilometers downstream, the river's elevation (height) is 65 meters. What is the gradient of this river? (Hints: units will be in meters/kilometer

Answer 1

The gradient of the river is found by dividing the change in elevation (45 meters) by the distance (5 kilometers), resulting in a gradient of 9 meters per kilometer.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the river's gradient, you need to take the difference in elevation between the two points and divide it by the distance the river travels between those points. The gradient is a measure of how steep a part of the river is. The formula for gradient is: Gradient = (Change in Elevation) / (Distance).

In this case, the river drops from an elevation of 110 meters to 65 meters over a distance of 5 kilometers. So, the change in elevation is 110 meters - 65 meters = 45 meters. The distance is already given in kilometers, which is the required unit for the gradient.

Now we calculate the gradient: \[Gradient = \frac{45\,meters}{5\,kilometers} = 9\,meters/kilometer\]

The gradient of the river is 9 meters/kilometer.