Zachary’s Quest

MPM2D Culminating Activity /56

Name __________________ Date: __________________

Trigonometry & Similar Triangles /16 marks

Linear Systems /21 marks

Quadratic Relations & Expressions /11 marks

Quadratic Equations /8 marks

Total: /56 marks

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Once upon a time a brave and mathematically-inclined warrior named
Zachary set out on a quest to rescue the kidnapped Princess Eva.

First, Zachary needed to get to the room of the stolen Princess to

read the ransom note left behind. The Princess lived in a slanted
tower with no stairs (for security purposes, ironically). Zachary plans
to use his 17ft ladder to climb in a window 15ft up the tower’s slanted
wall.

Zachary leans the ladder so that it just reaches the window. Now,
ladders can be dangerous: too steep and they could topple backwards,
too shallow and they could slide out from the wall!

To be safe, the angle of elevation between the ladder and the ground should be
between 73° and 78°.

1) Will Zachary be safe on the ladder? Calculate the necessary angle(s) to

justify your answer.

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2) Calculate how far from the base of the tower Zachary placed the ladder.
(hint: You’ll need the top angle first)

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Safe or not, he made it up the tower, since he is, after all, a warrior. The ransom
note read “If you wish to see Princess Eva alive, bring all the diamonds from the
royal treasury to the Kingdom of Far Far Away”. Zachary wastes no time. He
heads for the Kingdom of Far Far Away, which involves crossing the Great River.
He decides to take some measurements and use similar triangles to determine the
width of the river.

3) Zachary can swim for a maximum of 75 metres before becoming too tired
and drowning. Is he able to swim across the river? (hint: the ratio of two
corresponding sides is the same for all pairs. Perhaps redrawing the
triangles so they look similar will help.)

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3

Once across the river, Zachary hopes to run and catch up to the kidnapper before
he can reach the Kingdom of Far Far Away.

4) Zachary runs steadily at 10km/hr. His distance can be modelled by the

equation y = 10x, where y gives his distance (km) in relation to time (hours).

The kidnapper runs at 5km/hr (since he’s carrying a princess), and is already
30km away when Zachary begins his pursuit.

a) Give the equation for the kidnapper’s distance (y) in relation to time (x)

__ In Slope-intercept form ( y=mx+b ):

2

Standard Form ( Ax+ By+C=0):

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b) Use substitution or elimination to find the hours and kilometres it will take
for Zachary to catch the kidnapper.

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5) Graph both Zachary and the kidnapper’s distance equations on the grid
below. Label the lines, and their point of intersection (give the coordinates).

Hint: They should match your answer in #4. USE A RULER!

Distance vs. Time

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time (hr)

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distance (km)

6) The Kingdom of Far Far Away is 50 km from the river where Zachary started
running. Does Zachary catch the kidnapper in time? (Circle your choice)

YES 😊 / NO ☹

If yes, how far away from the Kingdom are they when he catches up?
If no, how far behind is Zachary when the kidnapper reaches Far Far Away?

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How long does it take Zachary to reach Far Far Away?

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When Zachary the warrior finally reaches the

Kingdom of Far Far away, there is a tall brick
wall surrounding the city. Conveniently, there
is a catapult nearby which Zachary uses to
launch himself over the wall and into the city.
His path through the air forms the parabola
shown on the graph.

7) Identify the key features of the graph:

Vertex: ( ____ , ____ )

__
4 x-intercepts _____ and _______

y-intercept: ______

axis of symmetry (as an equation): _________

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8) Interpret the key features of the graph:

a) What is the highest point that Zachary reaches through the air? _______
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3 b) How long does it take Zachary to reach his maximum height? _______

c) For how long is Zachary in the air? _______

9) The factored form equation for Zachary’s flight is given by y=ax ( x−6).
a) Substitute your vertex point into this equation to determine the “a”
value, and round it to one decimal place..

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b) Find the standard form equation ( y=a x2 +bx +c ) for Zachary’s flight.

Once inside the city, Zachary must rescue the princess who is being held prisoner
in a water tower shaped like a cylinder with a cone-shaped roof. There is a mean
guard at the bottom of the tower. Zachary decides to save his strength, and tries
to bribe the guard with cash instead!

10) Zachary reaches into his pocket and pulls out $4.80 in nickels and quarters.
He notices that he has 6 more nickels than quarters. How many of each coin
does Zachary have? Solve for the answer using an algebraic method, and
answer in a sentence.

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The guard’s loyalty is easily and cheaply bought, since the kidnapper had only given
him a lousy IOU. Zachary moves past him and examines the water tower. He
notices a secret trap door on the roof! He can climb the ladder up the side, but is
concerned that the roof will be too slippery if its angle is steeper than 52 ° .

11) a) Use the measurements shown in the diagram to determine the roof’s
slope angle. Is the roof too steep for Zachary to climb? (hint: Soh Cah
Toa)

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b) Determine the slant height (diagonal length) of the roof.

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Phew! Not too steep! Once inside the water tower, Zachary easily defeats the
kidnapper in hand-to-hand combat, but getting the princess outside the tower will
be tricky, since there is no ladder returning to the trap door. He will have to
unlock the main doors by figuring out the complicated password before the tower
fills with water and they both drown! Zachary finds a riddle by the doors, giving
him the code he needs… if he can solve it in time!

The riddle reads:

12) Use any method you know to determine the roots of these
quadratic equations. (Round to 2 decimal places if necessary)
Order the roots from least to greatest at the end to unlock the door!

a) x 2=4 x+5

b) 2 x2 +3 x−4=0 c) x 2−49=0

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Roots in order ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

If you have done your job well, Zachary the Warrior and
Princess Eva are safely returning home, perhaps a bit ragged
and bruised, but alive to tell the story to their grandchildren.

..oh yeah, they got married and lived happily ever after.

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