Introduction
Throughout history, maps, in conjunction with various geometric and trigonometric concepts, have been central to the work of professionals such as park rangers, detectives, surveyors, and orienteers. Trilateration and triangulation are two of the many mathematical processes these professionals rely upon in order to pinpoint specific locations; they use maps, rulers, compasses, and protractors to find exact positions of forest fires, cell phones of missing persons, and measurements of distance and elevation. Triangulation can even help someone orient themselves if lost!
Despite this inherent connection between cartography and mathematics, it seems that maps are rarely used to augment student learning within the geometric context. Therefore, the goal of this unit, Topographical Trilateration and Triangulation, is for students to develop a strong conceptual understanding of Geometric and Trigonometric concepts through the practice of identifying unknown locations with both circular and spherical projections of distance from three or more known locations as well as identifying unknown locations from two known locations and calculating unknown distance between two known positions.
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