Question 321286: I have a tanker that is sitting 450 ft from shore, is leaking oil that is advancing in a circle at 2.2 ft per hour. If it takes 204.55 hrs for the oil to reach the shoreline, how long will it take to contaminate 6 miles of shoreline? I don't know if I start with the calculating the circumfrence or what?
Answer by ankor@dixie-net.com(22740)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! I have a tanker that is sitting 450 ft from shore, is leaking oil that is
advancing in a circle at 2.2 ft per hour.
If it takes 204.55 hrs for the oil to reach the shoreline, how long will it take to contaminate 6 miles of shoreline?
:
As you probably noticed, 204.55 * 2.2 = 450 ft, which would be the radius of
spill when it just touched the shoreline after 204.55 hrs.
:
Visualize a larger circle that has a 6 mi chord which is 450 ft from the center.
(The source of the spill)
The center 450' distance to the 6 mi chord bisects the chord, so we can find the radius by solving a right triangle, with 1 leg 450' and the other leg 3 mi
:
Convert 3 mi to ft: 3*5280 = 15,840 ft
:
radius would be the hypotenuse, so we have
r = 
r = 15846.4 ft
:
How long would it take the oil to travel 15,846.4 ft at 2.2 ft/hr?
 = 7,203 hrs (about 300 days)
:
Did this make sense to you? Let me know please (in the comment section).
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