Sextant Solutions
Using a sextant on a ship for celestial navigation.Copyright 2005 Kevin S. O'Brien, Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_050721-N-5549O-038_Quartermaster_2nd_Class_Stephanie_Hudson_from_Plymouth,_Mass.,_peers_through_a_marine_sextant,_a_navigational_instrument_used_to_determine_celestial_navigation_aboard_USS_Ronald_Reagan_(CVN_76).jpg
The earliest explorers had no computers or satellites to help them determine their exact locations. The sextant was the most accurate tool developed to determine latitude and longitude. In this activity, the sextant is introduced and discussed. Students learn how a sextant is a reliable tool still used by today's navigators and how computers can help assure accuracy when measuring angles. Students also experience how computers can be used to understand equations even when they do not know how to do the math.
Engineers design measurement tools for all fields, for example, a sextant. Despite their best efforts, certain measurement errors will always exist when using a sextant, no matter how well-designed. Today, engineers use computers—another engineer-created tool—to take into account these measurement errors and produce more accurate results.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Use trigonometric functions to determine angle measurements.
- Analyze functional relationships and examine how a change in one variable results to change in another.
- Explain the connection between computer technology and navigation
- Explain how advancements in technology have improved humans' ability to navigate