A fly fisherman in Montana approaches the edge of the Smith River Canyon and notices a "switch back" leading down to the river's edge. This switch back is a zigzagging walking trail made up of 6 equal length sections going back and forth on an almost perfectly vertical canyon wall, and a sign reads that each section is a 9 degree descent as measured from the horizon (theta is the same for each section). The fisherman decides to estimate how long it will take him to descend the switch back by dropping a stone into the canyon below, and measuring the stone's time of flight with his wrist watch.

Question

jaredstone4 · Answer

Continued... If he measures the stone's time of flight to be 6.8 seconds, how long (in seconds) will it take him to descend the switchback at a constant speed of 2 meters per second?

anonymous · Answer

Drawing a picture always helps me give me a better understanding of whats going on.
This should help, let me know if there is something that isn't making sense. 

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