Question

A Ferris wheel has a diameter of 100 feet. When you start at the bottom of the Ferris wheel, you are 2 feet from the ground. The Ferris wheel completes one rotation in 4 minutes.

1. Create a graph that represents your height relative to the ground as a function of time, using the image below as a guide. Replace the image with your graph.
2. Now create a function that represents your height from the ground as a function of time.

Answer 1

since it starts at a minimum when t=0, it will have the form
y = a - b cos(kt)
so apply what you know about sines and cosines, to get
y = 52 - 50 cos(π/2 x)