A Ferris wheel with a radius of 24 feet takes 1 minute to complete one revolution. When a seat is at its lowest point, it is 5 feet above the ground. Write an equation for the height h(t) of the ferris wheel for any time t.

Answer 1

height of bottom of circular path = 5
additional height = 24 (1 -cos theta) if at bottom when t = 0 and theta starts there
time for a revolution is 60 seconds,
theta = 2 pi radians * t/60 where t is in seconds
so
h = 5 + 24 (1 - cos 2pi t/60) = 5 + 24 (1 - cos pi t/30)