On a topographic map, contour lines join points of equal altitude. Following a contour means you don't go up or down in elevation. The steepest incline / decline is perpendicular to the countours.
Suppose I want to know what direction to climb up a mountain (I am in a mountainous region). I am at -36.41258° N, 148.355248° E & I can see that on the map, the contour nearest to me is a straight line from -36.405948° N 148.354883° E to - 36.423216° N 148.3566° E. What line should I walk along in the North-East plane? For each metre I move to the North, how many metres should I move to the East?
Hi, I was given the above Q. in 2UM. People are having touble with it in my class, and quoting my teacher "the goal is to climb to mountain in a direction perpendicular to the nearest contour. Knowing this will allow you to get the equation of the line you should travel in."
How do I solve this? I was thinking of getting the gradient of the two co-ordinates, then finding the gradient for the perpendicular line I need by using the m2 = -1 / m1 rule. Once I've gotten the gradient, I'll use the co-ordinates I'm currently at, and solve to find b and then I can fully write out the line equation.
Help is much appreciated. Thank you.
Suppose I want to know what direction to climb up a mountain (I am in a mountainous region). I am at -36.41258° N, 148.355248° E & I can see that on the map, the contour nearest to me is a straight line from -36.405948° N 148.354883° E to - 36.423216° N 148.3566° E. What line should I walk along in the North-East plane? For each metre I move to the North, how many metres should I move to the East?
Hi, I was given the above Q. in 2UM. People are having touble with it in my class, and quoting my teacher "the goal is to climb to mountain in a direction perpendicular to the nearest contour. Knowing this will allow you to get the equation of the line you should travel in."
How do I solve this? I was thinking of getting the gradient of the two co-ordinates, then finding the gradient for the perpendicular line I need by using the m2 = -1 / m1 rule. Once I've gotten the gradient, I'll use the co-ordinates I'm currently at, and solve to find b and then I can fully write out the line equation.
Help is much appreciated. Thank you.