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Browse High School Practical Geometry

Stars indicate particularly interesting answers or good places to begin browsing.


Radius of an Arch [05/25/1998]
Is there a formula to calculate the radius of a circle given the chord length and the distance from the centre of the chord to the circle?

Ratios and Geometry [10/29/1998]

Ratios, Geometry, Trigonometry [06/10/1999]

Rectangle Needed To Make Cone [9/5/1996]

Reflective Properties of a Semicircular Mirror [05/16/2000]
What are the reflective properties of a semicircular mirror? Will a ray exit a semicircular mirror parallel to its entry line?

Resolving Pitch and Yaw [02/10/2003]
Is there an equation to find the resultant of pitch and yaw?

Reuleaux Curve Applications [05/25/2002]
What is the Reuleaux curve used for?


Roof Rafters [02/03/1997]

Rotating a Plane about a Point in Space [07/03/2004]
Discussion of a method of rotating the three points of a right triangle around a point to align with a given plane in a particular way.

Scanning for Mountains [06/02/1999]
I am standing on a hill scanning the horizon to see a mountain. How high must the mountain be for high-tech optical equipment to be any use?

Segment of an Ellipse [09/06/2001]
We often use horizontal oval tanks for storing drinking water and fuel, and we would like to be able to calculate the contents.

Setting Sun [5/19/1995]
A fellow Naval retiree and I have been discussing whether the sun appears to set faster at the horizon near the equator than it does in the northern latitudes...

Sextant Theorem [05/13/2001]
What mathematical theorem is behind using a sextant, and can it be proved?


Sixteen-sided Window [08/05/1997]

Sizing a Connector [06/01/2001]
I have to come up with a specific diameter for anywhere from 2 to 91 diameters that are bunched together. The application is round wires.

Spiral Baffle in a Cylinder [6/24/1996]
We have a cylinder, 48 inches in diameter, to put a spiral baffle inside... What would the radius be?

Surveyor's Formula [06/05/1999]

Swimming Pool Volume [02/28/2002]

Tanker Bearings [06/11/2000]
From ship A, the bearing of an oil tanker is 300 degrees; from ship B, 1000 m due west of A, the bearing of the tanker is 060 degrees. Is the oil tanker the same distance from A as from B?

Tape Measure Markings [8/11/1997]
What is the small diamond on all tape measures that occurs every 19.2 inches for?

Teaching about Bearings [06/08/2000]

Tiling a Floor [06/30/1999]

Tipped and Partially Filled Frustum [12/14/2003]

Total Area of Multiple Objects [07/18/2002]

Triangular Garden [03/18/1997]




Volume of a Cylindrical Tank [2/3/1995]
I have to keep an inventory of how much is kept in a farm of tanks outside my school. The tanks are cylindrical, which would be no problem if they were standing on end...

Volume of a Pond [2/1/1995]
I need to have a large pond cleaned at my place of employment. The pond is completely filled with waste material and I would like to know how many cubic yards are in the pond to remove.

Volume of Dirt [09/29/1997]
You have a mound of dirt that is 2 meters high with a bottom radius of 1 meter...



Volume of Soil [02/16/1999]


Who uses Ellipses? [12/3/1995]



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