Constructing an access ramp
The new festival staff office doesn’t have an accessible entrance. Help Mia install an access ramp at the correct angle to make sure everyone can get into the office easily…
The Salty Creek Community Festival team has rented a demountable building to serve as the staff office. The building has two steps leading to the entrance, but the festival’s engineering and safety advisor, Mia, is going to replace the steps with a ramp to make the office accessible.
Mia investigates how flat the ramp needs to be for a wheelchair user. She learns that the Australian standards require a gradient no steeper than 1:14.
Help Mia calculate the angle of the ramp and how long it needs to be to meet accessibility standards.
With just a few calculations, Mia is ready to improve accessibility for everyone who is using the festival staff office. Trigonometry calculations like these are helpful any time it’s necessary to calculate distances and heights of objects, and are used in a wide variety of scientific fields, from modelling sound waves in music theory to charting sea life in marine biology.
- This isn’t the only time Mia has needed to construct a ramp as part of setting up the festival. Learn how she is using trigonometry to move heavy equipment safely onto the stage. (10 to 15 minutes)
Learn more on Learning Lab
- Brush up on your right triangle trigonometry with an overview and practice exercises. (25 minutes)
Accessibility refers to the design of products, services, and spaces that are usable by as many people as possible, accounting for a diverse range of individuals, including people with disabilities and temporary limitations, the elderly, pregnant people, neurodivergent people, and people with literacy difficulties. Accessibility benefits everyone, as it aims to remove barriers and provide equal access to information, technology, and physical spaces for all individuals.
