Exploring the Brachistochrone Problem to investigate the

shape of a water slide with the fastest descent.

Mathematics Analysis and Approaches HL

Internal Assessment

Page count: 20

1
Rationale

I was merely 12 years old when I first did one of the scariest and tallest water slides called

‘Leap of Faith’ in Dubai. The thrill I got from this slide over others was immeasurable and

ever since, I have loved trying out different fast and tall water slides. When I initially got to

know about the Brachistochrone Problem, I instantly decided to explore it in context to water

slides to see which shape of a slide would give the quickest descent of a person from the top

to bottom. Some people might find it obvious that the path of quickest descent for an object

to move from one point to another in a vertical plane (with the gravitational force as the only

force) is simply a straight line. This is because the distance between the two points is the

minimum when the path is a straight line. Like many others, I was under this impression as

well. However, while reading about Johann Bernoulli and some of the prominent

mathematicians during his time, I came across the Brachistochrone Problem that proved this

wrong. To understand what types of water slides would be the fastest, I decided to use the

this problem as the basis of my investigation.

Introduction

Three hundred years back, the Swiss mathematician Johann Bernoulli challenged the

mathematicians of the time to solve the Brachistochrone Problem1. Although his aim was to

prove that he was the greatest mathematician of the time, the introduction of the problem led

to the discovery of many important concepts in mathematics. The Brachistochrone Problem

initially proposed for 6 months by Bernoulli stated “Given two points A and B in a vertical

1
https://mecheng.iisc.ac.in/suresh/me256/GalileoBP.pdf Johann Bernoulli’s brachistochrone ... -
mecheng.iisc.ac.in. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from
https://mecheng.iisc.ac.in/suresh/me256/GalileoBP.pdf

2
 plane, what is the curve traced out by a point acted on only by gravity, which starts at A and

reaches B in the shortest time.”2

Back then, Bernoulli solved this problem using Fermat’s principle that states that light

travelling between two points does so in the minimum time possible3. Newton also solved the

problem in one night and sent it to Bernoulli anonymously. The calculus of variations had not

been developed during this time, but the introduction of the problem eventually motivated

Leonard Euler and Joseph-Louis Lagrange to develop it in the eighteenth century4. This
personal engagement is shown here as the history of the problem is also explored

method solves problems associated with minimizing or maximizing an integral expression

and finding the function solution to it. Through this exploration, I aim to explore the shortest-

time path known as the Brachistochrone curve by solving the Brachistochrone Problem using

the traditional calculus of variations method and using it to understand how the time to slide

down a water slide varies with different shapes (three different kinds of shapes examined).

Brachistochrone intuition

To start with, it is important to understand how time can be minimized. The equation for time

travelled by a moving object is as follows:

𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 =
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑

Through this equation, we know that there are two possible ways to minimize time.

2
Brachistochrone problem. Maths History. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://mathshistory.st-
andrews.ac.uk/HistTopics/Brachistochrone/
3
Law of reflection. Reflection and Fermat's Principle. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/Fermat.html
4
Nolte, D. D. (2021, January 5). Johann Bernoulli's brachistochrone. Galileo Unbound. Retrieved December
17, 2021, from https://galileo-unbound.blog/2020/06/29/johann-bernoullis-brachistochrone/

3
 1. Method 1 to minimize time involves minimizing distance (smaller value of the

numerator). This can be done by forming a straight line from G to H (refer to figure

1).

2. Method 2 involves accelerating the particle to achieve maximum speed (greater

denominator). In this type of trajectory, the initial part is vertical so that gravity can

accelerate the particle downwards and then the rest of it is horizontal (G to I to H in

figure 1). Steeper the drop earlier on, greater the speed earlier on, which allows the

particle to cover most of the remaining horizontal distance at a high speed too.

G Gravity

Maximum initial
acceleration due to
vertical initial path – Straight line –
maximum speed minimizes distance

Brachistochrone
curve

I H

Figure 15. The Brachistochrone Curve

Both methods, however, are eliminated because of the following reasons:

1. The minimum distance line GH is relatively flatter at the start. This means that the

particle would not accelerate and hence, would not travel at its maximum speed

(steeper the slope of the curve, greater the acceleration due to gravity downwards and

since the line is flatter, there would be no acceleration).

5
Ferreol, Robert. Brachistochrone, https://mathcurve.com/courbes2d.gb/brachistochrone/brachistochrone.shtml.

4
 2. The maximum speed trajectory makes the distance covered too long. Comparing line

GH and the path from G to I to H, the latter has a greater length. Since distance is not

at its minimum, this cannot be considered as the minimum time path either.

Hence, both these methods fail in minimizing the time taken for a particle to travel from
well explained

Point G to Point H. This is because the Brachistochrone curve that minimizes time is an

intermediate between the two. It is a combination of minimizing distance and maximizing the

speed.

Deriving the function for which time 𝑻 is minimized using the Calculus of Variations

Figure 2. Points A and B

For this derivation, I will be considering two points - A and B. The values for the coordinates

of A are not relevant for this derivation and the point is simply taken as (𝑥! , 𝑦! ). Point B is

the origin with coordinates (𝑥" , 𝑦" ) or (0,0). We know that the instantaneous speed of an

object can be found by dividing the change in time by change in distance travelled.

5
 #$
𝑣= (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1)
#%

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑣 = speed of the particle,

𝑑𝑠 = arc length along the graph of y(x) where y(x) is the function representing the path. 6

Minimum time 𝑇 when a particle moves from point A to point B is given by (A is at a greater

height than B):

& &
𝑑𝑠
𝑇 = @ 𝑑𝑡 = @ (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 2)
' ' 𝑣

To find an expression for 𝑣, it is important to consider the principle of conservation of

energy4. Assuming a particle of mass 𝑚 moves from one point to another (without friction) in
!
constant gravity 𝑔, at speed 𝑣, the kinetic energy of the particle is " 𝑚𝑣 " . As the particle

moves down over a height difference of 𝑦, regardless of the shape of the path, there is a loss

of potential energy whose value is 𝑚𝑔𝑦. Since there is no friction, this is loss in potential
!
energy is equal to the increase in kinetic energy. If the initial velocity is zero, " 𝑚𝑣 " = 𝑚𝑔𝑦.

This means that velocity 𝑣 of the particle is (speed and velocity are used interchangeably in

throughout the investigation):

𝑣 = C2𝑔𝑦 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 3)

Similarly, to find an expression for 𝑑𝑠, an incremental path length 𝑑𝑠 is considered where the

horizontal component is denoted by 𝑑𝑥 and the vertical

component is denoted by 𝑑𝑦. Hence, using the Pythagorean

theorem,

Figure 3. Pythagorean
theorem

6
Web.math.utk.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from
https://web.math.utk.edu/~freire/teaching/PrelimReviewSets2021/List_8_solutions.pdf

6
 𝑑𝑠 " = 𝑑𝑥 " + 𝑑𝑦 "

𝑑𝑠 = C𝑑𝑥 " + 𝑑𝑦 " (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 4)

Substituting equations 3 and 4 in equation 1,

(!
1 C𝑑𝑥 " + 𝑑𝑦 "
𝑇= @ 𝑑𝑥
C2𝑔 (" C𝑦

"
* G1 + H𝑦 ) (𝑥 )I
1
𝑇= @ 𝑑𝑥 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 5)
C2𝑔 + C𝑦(𝑥)

Boundary conditions for 𝑇:

𝑦(0) = 0 (since B is the origin).

𝑦(𝐿) = 𝐿 (where 𝐿 is the length from 𝑥! to 𝑥" ).

𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑇 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡.

Use of the Euler-Lagrange differential equation to derive the equation for the path of

quickest descent

The Euler-Lagrange equation is the fundamental equation for the calculus of variations. This

equation is a necessary condition for the existence of a minimum time path (extremum) and it

needs to be solved in order to get the solution to the Brachistochrone Problem. Generally, it is

a second-order differential equation but in some special cases, it can be reduced to a first-

order differential equation (discussed later)7. For this, let 𝐶 , [𝑎, 𝑏] be a set of continuous

functions defined on between 𝑎 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 𝑏, that have their first 𝑘 derivatives continuous on this

interval as well.

7
The Euler-Lagrange Equation - KAIST. https://mathsci.kaist.ac.kr/~nipl/am621/lecturenotes/Euler-
Lagrange_equation.pdf.

7
 -
If 𝐼(𝑌) is an extremum of the functional 𝐼(𝑌) = ∫. 𝐹(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑦 ) ) 𝑑𝑥 defined on all functions

𝑦𝜀𝐶 " [𝑎, 𝑏] such that 𝑦(𝑎) = 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦(𝑏) = 𝐵, 𝑌(𝑥) satisfies the following second-order

differential equation,

𝑑 𝜕𝐹 𝜕𝐹
] )_ − =0 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 6)
𝑑𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦

/0
This is the Euler-Lagrange equation. /1) here is the partial derivative of F with respect to 𝑧,

where 𝑧 is one of the three variables in the function 𝐹. 𝐹(𝑢, 𝑧, 𝑤) is the function of 𝐹 and

when the function in equation 5 is taken into account, 𝑥, 𝑦(𝑥), 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 ) (𝑥) are plugged in

instead of 𝑢, 𝑧, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤 and then integrated8. Here, a partial derivative is used because the

function depends on three variables (partially depends on each of the variable). Thus, if we

differentiate it with respect to one of the variables, we consider the other two as constant9.

For this particular problem, The Beltrami Identity (form of Euler-Lagrange) is used because

there is no 𝑥 in the integrand for 𝑇 which means that the function is independent of one of its

variables (can be represented by 𝐹(𝑦, 𝑦 ) (𝑥)) . The Beltrami identity equation required for our

solution of the Brachistochrone Problem sums up to:

/0
𝐹 − 𝑦) /1 #
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 7)

/0
After plugging in 𝐹 and 𝑦 ) /1 #
(with the use of chain rule while solving the partial derivative)

and applying the Beltrami identity,

1 + (𝑦 ) )" (𝑦 ) )"
d − =𝑐 (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 8)
2𝑔𝑦 C(1 + (𝑦 ) )" )(2𝑔𝑦)

Multiplying both sides by C2𝑔𝑦 and then by C1 + 𝑦′" to obtain,

8
The euler-lagrange equation, or Euler's equation. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucahmto/latex_html/chapter2_latex2html/node5.html
9
Admin. “Partial Derivative (Definition, Formulas and Examples): Partial Differentiation.” BYJUS, BYJU'S, 20
May 2021, https://byjus.com/maths/partial-derivative/.

8
 1 + 𝑦′" − 𝑦 ) " = 𝑐 G2𝑔𝑦(1 + 𝑦 ) " )

1 = 𝑐G2𝑔𝑦(1 + 𝑦 ) " )

By squaring both sides,

1 = 𝑐 " 2𝑔𝑦(1 + 𝑦 ) " )

Since 𝑐 and 2𝑔 are also constants, moving them to the other side would give

𝑑 = H1 + 𝑦 ) " I𝑦

!
Where 𝑑 = 2 " "3 is a constant.

To get 𝑦’ on one side,

𝑑
𝑦) = d − 1
𝑦

Which means,

𝑑𝑦 𝑑
=d −1
𝑑𝑥 𝑦

Hence,

𝑦
𝑑𝑥 = d 𝑑𝑦
𝑑−𝑦

By integrating both sides,

𝑦
𝑥 + 𝑐" = @ d 𝑑𝑦
𝑑−𝑦

Where 𝑐" is the constant of integration.

4
To solve RHS, substitute 𝑦 = 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃) where 0 < 𝜃 < " .

𝑑𝑦 = 2𝑑 sin(𝜃) cos(𝜃)𝑑𝜃

Hence,

9
 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃)
𝑥 + 𝑐" = @ d 2𝑑sin(𝜃)cos(𝜃)𝑑𝜃
𝑑 − 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃)

Using the trigonometric identity 1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛" 𝜃 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 " 𝜃, the above equation can be simplified to

𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃)
𝑥 + 𝑐" = @ d 2𝑑sin(𝜃)cos (𝜃)𝑑𝜃
𝑐𝑜𝑠 " (𝜃)

Which further simplifies to

𝑥 + 𝑐" = 2𝑑 @ 𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃) 𝑑𝜃

Using the trigonometric identity 2𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃) = 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠2(𝜃),

1
𝑥 + 𝑐" = 2𝑑 @ (1 − cos (2𝜃)) 𝑑𝜃
2

1
𝑥 + 𝑐" = 𝑑(𝜃 − sin (2𝜃))
2

𝑑
𝑥 = 𝑑𝜃 − sin (2𝜃) − 𝑐"
2

And,

𝑑
𝑦 = 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛" (𝜃) = (1 − cos (2𝜃))
2

These are the parametrised equations for a cycloid that are actually represented as follows

(they can be represented like this because 𝑑 is a constant and 𝑟 is also a constant – radius of

the rolling circle does not change)

𝑥 = 𝑟(𝜃 − sin (𝜃)) (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 9)

𝑦 = 𝑟(1 − cos (𝜃)) (𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 10)

Where, 𝑟 is radius of the rolling circle that forms the cycloidal path and 𝜃 is the angle swept

by the rolling circle (can be visualised through figure 4).

10
A cycloid, by definition, is the path traced by the point on the circumference of a circle

rolling on a straight path, depicted by the figure below.

Figure 410. Cycloidal path

Brachistochrone Problem explored graphically to investigate the time taken for a

person to slide down a water slide

Now that the equation for shortest time and the parametric equations of a cycloid are known,

a few possible shapes of a water slide can be explored to deduce which one is of the quickest

descent and by how much the time taken to slide differs. For my exploration, I have used

ProSlide’s Cliffhanger (located in Texas) slide’s approximate measurements to understand

which shape of this slide would give the quickest descent. This is just one example of a water

slide but my final results will be applicable to all water slides where there is a descent from a

point with greater height to point with lower height (with no curves or turns in the slide).

There are three cases investigated in this section: straight-line slide, parabolic arc-shaped

slide, and finally cycloid-shaped slide. Although I had already mentioned while describing

the Brachistochrone intuition that a straight-line path is not the one of quickest descent (only

minimum distance), it was important to understand by how much the time varied in this case

10
“OT Physics Problem Regarding Water Spray from a Wheel.” Practical Machinist, 8 Sept. 2013,
https://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/ot-physics-problem-regarding-water-spray-wheel-271709/.

11
and therefore, I took it as one of my water slide shapes. I also took the parabolic arc as one of

the shapes because it is a curved path like a cycloid and so, I wanted to understand whether it

takes less time to descend on a parabolic arc shaped slide when compared to straight-line due

to its curved nature or it takes more time. Lastly, using the derivation done in the previous

section for the parametric equations of a cycloid using the calculus of variations, I found the

time taken for descent on a cycloid-shaped slide to understand how fast this path is relative to

the other two. A limitation here is that only three shapes were considered and more could

have been examined for a further understanding.

Figure 511. Cliffhanger water slide

For all three cases explored below, two points – A and B – are taken where the coordinates

for Point A are (33, 25) and point B is considered as the origin with the coordinates (0,0).

Also, the equation used to find the time taken to travel from point A to B is

11
Kennedy, Meredith. “The World's Wildest Water Slides: Pictures.” Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics,
11 Mar. 2022, https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/g191/worlds-wildest-water-
slides/?slide=8.

12
 ! * 5!6(1 # (())"
𝑇= ∫ 𝑑𝑥 , which was derived earlier. The value of 𝑔, which is the
5"3 + 51(()

gravitational constant, is taken as 9.81 𝑚𝑠 9" .

The height of the slide was known (81 feet or 24.6888 meters ≈ 25 meters – approximated to

2 s.f. for the ease of calculation) and the length was approximated using the ratios of the

length of lines in figure 4 (shown below).

2.62 2500
= (𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑚)
3.42 𝑥

The values on RHS here were measured using a ruler on a software, but they might not be

exactly the same as the lengths of the lines in figure 4 because the size of the image was

changed here, but the ratio is the same. critical Reflection is seen

2500 × 3.42
𝑥=
2.62

𝑥 = 3263.36 𝑐𝑚 = 32.6336 𝑚

≈ 33 𝑚 (approximated to 2 s.f. since the height is also in 2 s.f. for the ease of calculation)

Certain limitations of this type of approach is that firstly, some part of the slide is not visible

in the image and since the length is approximated using the image, the actual length could be

greater. However, this does not affect the pattern observed between time taken to reach from

point A to point B in any way for the three cases explored below. Moreover, the values are

rounded off for the ease of calculation, but again, this does not affect the pattern observed.

13
Straight line shape
y (vertical
component) in meters

x (horizontal
component) in
meters

Figure 612. Straight line path

The general equation for a straight line is 𝑦 = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐. 𝑚 is the slope, which in this case
":9+
would be ;;9+ = 0.757576. Since there is no y-intercept (y-intercept is 0), the equation of

the line becomes:

𝑦 = 0.757576 𝑥

The derivative of this would be,

𝑦 ) = 0.757576

Substituting these in equation 5,

! ;; 5!6(+.A:A:AB)"
𝑇= ∫ 𝑑𝑥 = 3.73866 seconds
√"×>.@! + √+.A:A:AB (

Therefore, in a straight water slide, moving from point A to B would take approximately 3.74

seconds. The sign of the gradient function does not matter here as it is merely a reflection

representation of the direction of path (with a negative gradient, the path is from left to right).

Therefore, even if a straight-line with a negative gradient was taken, the result would have

been the same.

12
Calculator Suite. GeoGebra. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.geogebra.org/calculator

14
Parabolic-arc shape

To find the equation for the parabolic path, the general equation needs to be considered.

𝑦 = 𝑎𝑥 " + 𝑏𝑥 + 𝑐. To find the values of 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐 , we need to consider three points on the

curve. Two of the points would be points A and B with coordinates (33, 25) and

(0,0) respectively. Since B is the origin,

Substituting the coordinates for 𝐵(0,0),

0=0×𝑎+0×𝑏+𝑐

Which means 𝑐 = 0.

Let there be a third point with the coordinates (20, 12) (approximated using graph) which can

form one of the many possible parabolic arcs between the endpoints.

Substituting the coordinates for 𝐴(33,25),

25 = 33" 𝑎 + 33𝑏

Substituting the coordinates for 𝐶(20, 12),

12 = 20" 𝑎 + 20𝑏

Solving these simultaneous equations, we get

𝑎 = 0.0121212

𝑏 = 0.35757576

𝑐=0

Hence, the equation for the parabolic arc is 𝑦 = 0.0121212𝑥 " + 0.35757576𝑥.

15
Graphing this,
y (vertical
component) in meters

x (horizontal
component) in
meters

Figure 7. Parabolic arc

The derivative of this would be,

𝑦 ) = 0.0242424𝑥 + 0.35757576

Substituting these in equation 5,

! ;; 5!6(+.+"D"D"D(6+.;:A:A:AB )"
𝑇= ∫ 𝑑𝑥 = 6.13486 seconds
√"×>.@! + √+.+!"!"!"( " 6+.;:A:A:AB(

Therefore, in a water slide with a parabolic shape, it would take 6.13 seconds to move from

point A to point B.

Cycloidal shape

The equations for a cycloid were derived above (equations 9 and 10). In these, the two

variables that we need to find are 𝑟 and 𝜃.

Substituting the coordinates for point A in equations 9 and 10,

33 = 𝑟(𝜃 − sin (𝜃))

25 = 𝑟(1 − cos (𝜃))

16
 33
𝑟=
𝜃 − sin (𝜃)

33
25 = × (1 − cos (𝜃))
𝜃 − sin (𝜃)

25
(𝜃 − sin (𝜃)) = (1 − cos (𝜃))
33

Graphing LHS and RHS separately and finding the intersection point,
y

Figure 813. Finding the value of 𝜽

𝜃 = 2.864

33
𝑟= = 11.7269 ≈ 11.73
2.864 − sin (2.864)

Hence, the equations become,

𝑥 = 11.73(𝜃 − sin (𝜃))

𝑦 = 11.73(1 − cos (𝜃))

Finding derivatives,

𝑑𝑦
= 11.73sin (𝜃)
𝑑𝜃

13
Graphing calculator. Desmos. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2021, from https://www.desmos.com/calculator

17
 𝑑𝑥
= 11.73 − 11.73cos (𝜃)
𝑑𝜃

𝑑𝑦
𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝜃
=
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝜃

Going back to r for the ease of calculation and to find general expressions,
#1
#E
= 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃)

#(
and #E = 𝑟 − 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃)

Hence,

𝑑𝑦 " 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃) "

] _ =] _
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 − 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃)

𝑟 " (sin (𝜃))"

= "
𝑟 (1 − cos (𝜃))"

Using the trigonometric identity (sin (𝜃))" = 1 − (𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃))" ,

𝑑𝑦 " 𝑟 " (1 − (cos(𝜃))" )

] _ = "
𝑑𝑥 𝑟 (1 − cos(𝜃))"

1 + cos (𝜃)
= , 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 ≠ 1
1 − cos (𝜃)

2𝑟 − (𝑟 − 𝑟 cos(𝜃))
=
𝑟(1 − cos(𝜃))

𝑟 + 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃)
=
𝑟 − 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃)

Hence,

1 + cos (𝜃) 2𝑟 − 𝑦
=
1 − cos (𝜃) 𝑦

𝑑𝑦 2𝑟 − 𝑦
=d
𝑑𝑥 𝑦

18
 1
𝑑𝑥 = 𝑑𝑦 ×
2𝑟 − 𝑦
G
𝑦

Substituting this in equation 5,

"
d1 + uG2𝑟 − 𝑦v
1 * 𝑦 1
𝑇= @ × 𝑑𝑦 ×
√2 × 9.81 + C𝑦 2𝑟 − 𝑦
G
𝑦

Simplifying this gives,

*
1 √2𝑟
𝑇= @ 𝑑𝑦
√2 × 9.81 + C𝑦 × (2𝑟 − 𝑦)

Since,

𝑦 = 𝑟(1 − cos (𝜃))

𝑦 × (2𝑟 − 𝑦) = 𝑟(1 − cos (𝜃)) × (2𝑟 − 𝑟 + 𝑟𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝜃))

= 𝑟(1 + cos(𝜃))𝑟(1 − cos (𝜃))

= 𝑟 " (sin (𝜃))"

Substituting this in equation 5,

E!
1 √2𝑟
𝑇= @ 𝑑𝑦
√2 × 9.81 E" C𝑟 " (sin (𝜃))"

Here, the limits have changed to 𝜃! and 𝜃" because the variable has changed to 𝜃 in the

integrand. 𝜃" = 0 (since it is at the origin) and 𝜃! is the value of 𝜃 that corresponds to 𝑥! .

And since,

𝑑𝑦 = 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃𝑑𝜃

E!
1 √2𝑟
𝑇= @ × 𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜃)𝑑𝜃
√2 × 9.81 E" C𝑟 " (sin (𝜃))"

E!
1
= @ √2𝑟 𝑑𝜃
√2 × 9.81 +

19
 1
= (√2𝑟 × 𝜃! )
√2 × 9.81
E9$FGE ( 2HHI#FG.%J HK LHFG% ' ;;
𝜃! can be found using !92H$E = 1 2HHI#FG.%J HK LHFG% ' = ":

E9$FGE
!92H$E
= 1.32

By plotting LHS and RHS, the intersection point’s x-coordinate is 2.864. This means

𝜃! = 2.864.

Substituting in the main equation for time,

1
𝑇= (√2 × 11.73 × 2.864)
√2 × 9.81

𝑇 = 3.13175 seconds

Therefore, in a water slide with a cycloidal shape, it takes 3.13 seconds to move from point A

to point B. Comparing the time taken in the three types of shapes of water slides (straight-

line, parabolic arc-shaped, and cycloidal) considered, the one with a cycloidal path is the least

time. The one with a parabolic arc shape takes the maximum time. There is not much

difference between the time taken with a straight water slide and the cycloidal one but, the

cycloidal shaped slide is still cleary the one that takes least time for descent.

In all three cases, to ensure a certain level of accuracy and consistency, all values of time

were rounded off to 2 decimal places. Moreover, an important factor to consider is that

throughout this exploration, it has been assumed that there is no friction between the person

on the slide and the slide and there is no air resistance (and gravitational force is the only

acting force). However, in real life, this is not the case. Both these forces are types of

frictional forces that oppose the motion of the person sliding down and therefore increase the

time taken for them to descend. Also, to ensure that these forces do not harm the person

sliding, there are certain safety conditions (for example, there is a required height and weight

of the person sliding).

20
Conclusion

It is fascinating to see that the Brachistochrone Problem that Johann Bernoulli proposed with

the aim of showing that he is the most prominent mathematician of his time today helps in

aspects of engineering and designing of roller coasters, slides, etc. Through my exploration, it

is clear that a cycloid is the path of the fastest descent and hence, a cycloid-shaped water slide

would also be the fastest. This was first derived through the traditional calculus of variations

method and then verified using a graphical approach wherein three different shapes of a water

slide were compared. Through this, we not only understood which of the shapes would give

the quickest descent but also how much the time of descent differs with different shapes of

water slides. A water slide with a parabolic arc shape takes the longest despite it being a

curve like the cycloid. A straight-line shape of a water slide (which is also the path of

minimum distance) is a path of faster descent than parabolic arc but the time taken is still

more than that in a cycloid.

Extension

I would have liked to explore how the path of light relates to the Brachistochrone Problem

and how it can be used to find a geometric proof for the problem. A modern mathematician

Mark Levi came with a simple geometric proof which is helpful in further understanding the

Brachistochrone Problem and its other applications. This proof is mainly based on the

Fermat’s principle. Instead of a particle moving from one point to another, light can be

considered travelling through multiple media (with different indexes of refraction) at

different speeds. The Snell’s law can then be connected to a thought experiment with a

rolling wheel on the ceiling to show that a cycloid is the time-minimizing path.

Moreover, I also would have liked to explore some other applications of the Brachistochrone

Problem in the real world such as the shape of roller coasters and surfing paths.

21
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