Real-Life Math
As a millwright, your math skills should be pretty strong. In order
to fix or install machines, you will need to measure angles, material thickness,
and distances with tools like squares and micrometers. As millwright Rita
Moore says, math is essential.
"You do need to know your math, but
it's not advanced chaos theory. It's practical stuff -- fractions and decimals,"
Moore explains. "Once you're in the trade, algebra is necessary and physics
is useful."
The ChocoWow factory -- the maker of the world's
densest chocolate Easter bunnies -- has just hired you to repair a conveyor
that transports the blocks of chocolate to the cutter room where they are
shaped into bunnies or Santas, depending on the holiday. A negligent worker
placed too heavy of a block of chocolate on the conveyor and the belt snapped.
Here
are the dimensions of the conveyor: it runs horizontally 3 feet off the ground,
turning into a 16-degree incline upwards over a run of 86 feet. You must make
a support brace to weld at the upper end of the incline. How long will the
brace need to be to reach the floor?
Hint: tan A = Opposite/Adjacent