Orchard Hideout

Portfolio

Maddy Glotfelty
Math 3
Cover Letter:

Introduction:
Maddie and Clyde want to make an orchard with a radius of 50 trees, and turn said orchard into an orchard
hideout, meaning that there is no line of sight that is not obstructed on the way out from the center. How long
will it take for the trees to be big enough to completely block the line of sight? To solve this problem, we will start
by explaining some key terms and then apply them to the problem, proving our ideas as we go.

Process and Justification:

At what point are the trees large enough that the center of the orchard is a true orchard hideout? To solve this problem,
there are a couple of terms that are helpful to know.

Equidistance: a mathematical term representing something that is exactly in between two points.

Perpendicular Bisector: the set of all points equidistant from a point

Circumference: The distance around the edge of a circle.

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 Radius: the distance from the center point of a circle to the circumference.

Hypotenuse: The longest side of a triangle.

Similarity: Two shapes with the same angles and number of sides, but not always the same side lengths.

In order to solve this problem specifically, there are some other parameters as well: The cross-sectional
area of a tree trunk increases by 1.5 square inches per year. When planted, the tree trunks each have a
circumference of 2.5 inches. The unit distance [for instance, the distance from (0, 0) to (1, 0)] on our graph is 10
1
feet. The last line of sight is the line that goes from the origin through the point (25, 2
).

With all of this information, we may now begin solving the problem. First, we need to find the current
area of the tree. To do this, we must find the radius of the tree, and while we don’t have the radius, we do have the
circumference (2.5 inches). Knowing that we can rewrite the radius to circumference equation (𝐶 = 2π𝑟) as an
𝑐
equation that gives us the radius from the circumference (𝑟 = 2π
)which would when the circumference is
plugged in, give us approximately r=.3978.
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 2
Once you have the radius, use this to find the area of the tree, using the area formula (𝐴 = π𝑟 ), which in
2
this case equals 𝐴 =. 4971 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 . Using this process we now have the cross-sectional surface area of the trees
when they are first planted.

2
With the knowledge that the trees grow at 1. 5𝑖𝑛 /𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟, we can begin to find the final size of the trees
and subsequently the amount of time until the orchard becomes an orchard hideout.

1
The last line of sight must go through the midpoint (already specified by the problem to be (25, 2 )) from
the origin. We know it has to go through the midpoint because, it means that the line of sight will follow the path
that we can see through for the longest time, and it also means that it follows a path that intercepts with the
outside of the orchard at exactly (50, 1) from the origin. The two trees that are most tightly bounding the line of
sight are, in this case, points (1,0) and (49,1), meaning that these two trees will be the first trees to block the last
line of sight. These two are chosen out of a mixture of necessity and easiness. Necessity because they are the two
points that will be closest to the line of sight at any given point, which makes sense because they are also the
closest to the ends of the line, (0,0) and (50,1). Easiness because technically throughout the circle there are
multiple other spots of symmetry. This is true because the orchard itself has symmetry. From the orchard’s center,
you can divide the orchard into quadrants of symmetry along the x and y axes, meaning that all of these quadrants
are symmetrical. Now that we know the two points that bind the last line of sight the next step is creating a
perpendicular bisector from these points to the last line of sight, the length of which will also be the radius of the
final tree.

From this point, I drew two triangles, one with a base of 50, and height of 1, and the other with a
hypotenuse r and base of 1, where the triangle with a base of one is inside of the triangle base 50. (See image
below; Image 1)

The height of the triangle with the base of 1, as seen above, is also equal to the shortest perpendicular
segment from the tree to the last line of sight of the last line of sight from point (1,0). We know both of these
triangles are similar because one originated from the other in such a way that they have the same angles and
number of sides, even though they don’t have the same side lengths. Because we know they are similar, and we
know the height of the larger triangle, we can use that knowledge to find the height of the smaller triangle using
ratios.

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 To do this, we have to a) find and recognize the hypotenuses and b) find the ratio using the hypotenuses.
To find the hypotenuse of the larger triangle (we already know the hypotenuse of the smaller triangle to be 1) use
2 2
the Pythagorean theorem. 50 + 1 = 2501 = 50.Now we may begin finding the ratio. To find the ratio
1
divide 50
to get .02. In order to further progress in this problem, we need to convert our problem into inches. All
single units up to this point have represented 10 feet (12 inches per foot). So first we must multiply 10 by .02 to
get .2, and then convert the units (now feet) into inches by multiplying by 12 which becomes 2.4 inches. We then
use the area formula to find the area of the tree as it intercepts the last line of sight. Using the area formula
2
(𝐴 = π𝑟 )we get 18.09.

Subtract the area of the original circle/ tree from the final circle/ tree. Divide this number, the area of
growth from the tree, by the rate of growth, 1.5 inches/year, in order to get the number of years that orchard
hideout would have needed to grow in order to become a true orchard hideout, 11.72.

Solution:
Maddie and Cylde plant an orchard with a radius of 50 trees in a grid pattern. They want to be able to stand in the
center and be unable to see out of the orchard. When they plant the trees, each tree has a circumference of 2.5 inches and
grows at a rate of 1.5. They wanted to know how long it would take to have a true orchard hideout.

It will take 11.7268 years before Maddie and Clyde no longer have any lines of sight from the center of the
orchard.

Discussion:
The author does an exemplary job of tying all the topics of the unit together, in order, while explaining
the logical steps from one to the next. The main mathematical ideas are well described and expanded upon.
The author also shows in detail how their understanding developed this unit. All prompts and questions are
answered fully and completely.

Coordinate Geometry:
Throughout the course of this unit, many of the ideas involved the coordinate system. We started this process by
recognizing the x and y axes, and the specific properties of each coordinate in any of the four quadrants created by said
axes, specifically the ways that each coordinate had negative or positive points based on their placement. (Image b) We
used this knowledge to then plot points that allowed us to know whether something was within a certain radius.

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 We then moved to find the distance formula, or how to find the distance between two points without using the
2 2
Pythagorean theorem, the distance formula being (𝑥2 − 𝑥1) + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1) . The distance formula basically says that
the distance between two points is the difference between x coordinates squared plus the difference between the y
coordinates squared, all taken the square root of.

𝑥1+𝑥2 𝑦1+𝑦2
From the distance formula, we then moved on to the midpoint formula ( 2
, 2
). The midpoint formula
allows us to find the point of equidistance between any two points. It does this by adding the x coordinates together and
then dividing by two and then adding the y coordinates together and dividing by 2, which then gives us a coordinate
midpoint.

Coordinates played a role in solving the unit problem by giving us the necessary knowledge to understand
coordinates and what they mean, as well as helping us determine and show the orchard hideout, and the bounding points
of the last line of sight.

Circles, π, and triangles:

Our work in this unit with circles and circumscribed polygons gave us insights into the number π. Before this unit,
π was an abstract used in circles and very few other areas of the mathematical world. Due to this project, I now recognize
the many uses of π both in my knowledge of circles as well as in plotting other shapes inscribed or circumscribed by
circles. Especially in the case of the Sprinkler POW, this was especially clear, and because of this unit I have discovered
the importance of the relationships between triangles and their inscribed and circumscribed circles by showing that all
triangles fall on a circumscribed circle of varying sizes, and the hypotenuse is also the radius within a circle.

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 Proof:
The burden of proof demands that we provide evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true or to produce belief
in its truth. Throughout this unit, we constructed rigorous geometric proofs and explored the difference between intuition
and concrete fact for example intuition can fool you while fact cannot. When learning to write a proof, I found the task
extremely frustrating because to write proof is to prove beyond doubt that the equation that you are proving to be true
doesn’t have any holes, mathematically or logically. After doing enough proofs though the task became almost a puzzle, a
methodical way of proving or disproving a mathematical statement. I learned that when writing a proof your logical,
mathematical brain must take over, it’s not a matter of what you believe, it’s a matter of what is factually sound.

Selection of work:
● Perpendicular and Angle Bisectors

● The Distance and Midpoint Formulas

● Triangle Incenters and Circumcenter

● The distance from a point to a line

● Circle Formulas

● Proof

Reflection:

This unit improved my understanding of the relationship between algebra and geometry through the
recognition that, by using algebra, we can better understand, find, and graph geometry. This is seen throughout my
work this semester from the midpoint equation to the POWs that we completed. Going into this project, I didn’t
recognize how strongly correlated geometry and algebra as mathematical fields. Because of this project, I have
realized that neither is quite complete without the other, geometry as the vessel through which we can see the
algebra, and algebra as the explanation for the geometry.

I feel proud of my work in this unit. I feel that I consistently did the work on time and well, often helping
the people around me when finished and asking questions to further my knowledge. This was best exemplified in
my continual asking for critique on POW 2: Fire, Fire! when I continued to try to strive for more polished work
from myself. This shows my willingness and wishes to continue to advance in mathematics, and problem-solving,
as well as my work ethic, and because of that and the other work that I did in this unit, I am proud.

This unit taught me that I am a student who does well with challenging problems and minimal help unless
asked for. I enjoy being challenged and seeing new things. I also feel that minimal help allows you to grow more

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 not only as a mathematician but as a problem solver, as it forces you to come at problems from different vantage
points rather than being led by the hand.

I have grown as a mathematician in my abilities as a problem solver. I try to solve equations by myself,
with minimal outside assistance, and beyond that, I try to apply the knowledge I have gained from previous work
to the work I am doing now. I want to be able to think through processes rather than hearing them and then never
thinking about them as I have done in the past year, and I believe that the success I have had in that this unit, and
hope to continue to have, has allowed me to become a more competent mathematician and problem solver as a
whole.

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