Grand Canyon Survey Problem
A surveyor needs to find the distance from point A to point B across the Grand Canyon above. She places a stake at point A and a coworker places a stake at point B on the other side. The surveyor then locates C on the same side of the canyon as point A such that a fourth stake is placed at E, the midpoint of The last stake is placed at D such that and D, E, B are collinear.
Construct triangles ABE and CDE using the above information. When completed, either save your geogebra file or take a screenshot of the image to submit with your IAKT on Echo.
IAKT Prompt:
1. Explain how the surveyor can use triangle ABE and triangle CDE to find the length of AB. Why would surveyors use this method?
2. If AC=1300 meters, DC=550 meters, and DE=851.5 meters, what is the length of AB? Explain your reasoning.