Ferris Wheel Example
Another area in which sinusoidal functions are used is circular motion. A Ferris wheel is a good example of using a sinusoidal function.
Suppose Sarah wants to take a Ferris wheel ride at a local carnival. The Ferris wheel has a height of 65.5 meters and a diameter of 61.5 meters. It takes the Ferris wheel 4.5 minutes to make one revolution. Sarah starts her ride at the midline at exactly 12:30 pm, once all of the other passengers are loaded. Write the sinusoidal equation that models the height of Sarah’s chair at any time, t. When does she reach a height of 55 meters?