Idaho Society of Professional Engineers
Friday Update – 05/18/07
UPCOMING EVENTS:
• May 18, 2007 - ISPE
Northern Chapter - “A Seminar
on Professionalism” Friday, May 18, 2007 - 1:30 pm - Post Falls Public
Library, 821 North Spokane Street, Post Falls.
• July 26 – 29, 2007 –
NSPE 2007 Annual
Conference – Denver, Colorado
NOMINATIONS NEEDED….
The ISPE Northern Chapter is seeking President-elect and
Secretary/Treasurer nominations for the 2007 - 2008 year. The President-Elect
position is held for one year followed by one year as President. The
Secretary/Treasurer is held for two years in an effort to maintain continuity in
accounting.
If you are interested in one of the positions or know of someone who would add
value to ISPE or benefit from the experience, please email the Northern Chapter.
Ethics of Emerging Technologies: Scientific Facts and
Moral Challenges
Ethics of Emerging Technologies provides the background, insight, and tools for
approaching and solving ethical dilemmas across a broad range of topics. The
text discusses ethical problems, using examples and reasoning tools that will
aid engineers, scientists, managers, administrators, and the public who wish to
understand risks, benefits, and possible approaches to resolving conflicts
associated with new technologies in the context of the global community.
MATHCOUNTS PROBLEM OF THE WEEK
Can you solve this MATHCOUNTS problem? The answer will appear in next week's
edition of the Friday Update!
Indianapolis 500
The month of May is a busy month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Racing teams fine tune their cars and compete for the 33
starting positions. The race was first held on May 30, 1911 - Memorial Day - a
grueling 500-Mile race paying $14,250 to win. The winner of the race in 2006 won
$1,744,855.
The winner’s share in 2006 is what percent of the winner’s share in 1911?
Express your answer to the nearest whole number.
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The track has four distinct turns and straight-aways. The front and back
straight-aways are 0.625 mile each, while the “short chute” straight-aways
between Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4 are 0.125 mile each. Each of the four
turns is 0.250 mile long. What is the minimum distance a racecar travels to make
one complete lap around the track?
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The speed records for 1 complete lap around the track and 4 complete laps around
the track were set by Arie Luyendyk in 1996 when he qualified for the pole
position at the start of the race. The pole position is the position closest to
the center of the track in the first row. His time for 1 lap was 37.895 seconds
and his time for 4 laps was 2 minutes, 31.908 seconds. What was his speed in
miles per hour for this 1 lap? What was his average speed in miles per hour for
these 4 laps? Express your answer to the nearest thousandth.
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In 2006 Sam Hornish Jr. in car number 6 crossed the finish line 0.0635 of a
second ahead of Marco Andretti in car number 26 in the closest finish for any
Indy 500 race. If both cars were traveling at the constant speed of 243 miles
per hour for the final 10 seconds of the race, how many feet ahead of car number
26 would car number 6 be when it crossed the finish line? Express your answer to
the nearest whole number.
To learn more about the 2007 Indianapolis 500 to held on May 27, 2007 go to
http://www.indy500.com/
Answer to last week’s MATHCOUNTS problem:
To find the mean age add the ages and divide by the number of mothers, (28 +
36 + 27 + 31 + 35 + 29) ÷ 6 = 31. Another way to find the mean is to order the
ages and use a leveling process. The ages in order are 27, 28, 29, 31, 35, 36.
Assume that one of the ages is the mean, for example 31. Comparing each of the
ages to 31 gives – 4, – 3, – 2, 0, +4, and +5. The sum of these values is 0 and
the mean is 31. To find the median age order the ages and find the middle value;
27, 28, 29, 31, 35, 36. Since there are an even number of ages, the median is
the mean of the middle two values; (29 + 31) ÷ 2 = 30. The positive difference
between the mean and the median is |30 – 31| = 1.
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The cost of the buffet is $15.00. The cost of the items on the Ala Carte Menu is
$1.50 + $1.75 + $1.50 + $2.00 + $1.75 + $1.50 + $1.50 = $11.50. The cost of the
food is $15.00 + $11.50 = $26.50. The sales tax is 6% of 26.50 = $1.59. The
service fee is 15% of $26.50 = $3.975. The total bill is $26.50 + $1.59 + $3.975
≈ $32.07.
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The formula for the volume of a cylinder is the area of the base (pi times the
radius squared) times the height. Multiply the volume by 3/4 and then multiply
by 5 to find the total volume of potting soil needed. π × 3.52 × 8 × (3/4) × 5 =
1154.5353. She needs 1155 cubic inches of potting soil.
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Since the poster is similar to the card the corresponding sides and letters must
be proportional. The shortest side of the poster measures 3 feet, which is
equivalent to 36 inches. The ratio of the height of the letters on the card to
the height of the letters on the poster must be the same as the ratio of the
lengths of the sides of the card and the poster. 0.5:x as 3:36. Solving for x, x
= 6 inches.
If you want to see last week's problem again, click
http://www.mathcounts.org/webarticles/anmviewer.asp?a=1020&z=110
Idaho Society of Professional Engineers
PO Box 170239
Boise, ID 83717-0239
208-426-0636
Fax: 208-426-0639
E-Mail: ispe@idahospe.org
Web Site: www.Idahospe.org
Idaho
Society of Professional Engineers
