Question

The country's largest mobile Ferris wheel-style ride opens at Coney Island Saturday. The Island Wheel soars 155 feet above the Ohio River and feature 36 open-air gondolas that hold six riders each. Park officials say each ride will last about 10 minutes, with the wheel making four rotations per session.  How many feet will you travel on one rotation of the Island Wheel? Let's assume that the loading platform is 5 feet off the ground.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

the wheel is a circle.

the travel distance of one rotation is the circumference of the circle.

the circumference of a circle is

2×pi×r

the diameter of the ferris wheel is 150 ft (we have to deduct the 5 ft height of the loading platform, so from the "155 ft above the Ohio River" only 150 ft are due to the diameter of the wheel).

the diameter is 2 times the radius.

so, the radius = 150/2 = 75 ft

so, the circumference (= the travel distance of one rotation on the wheel) is

2×pi×75 = 150×pi = 471.238898... ft