Question

The Wright Flyer was the first successful powered aircraft. A model was made to display in a museum with the length of 35 cm and a wingspan of about 66.9 cm. The length of the actual plane was 21 ft 1 in., and the height was 2.74 m. Compare the length, height, and wingspan of the model to the actual plane and explain why any errors may occur. (Round any calculations to the nearest whole number.)

Answer 1

To link the displayed Wright flyer in the museum with the actual plane, we have to calculate for the relation of the corresponding parameter. In this problem, for both the display and the actual plane, we are given with the length. Computing for the ratio gives us,

    ratio = length of the model / length of the actual plane

Length of the model = 35 cm

We need to calculate for the length of the model in ft.

length of the model = (35 cm)(1 in/2.54 cm)(1 ft/12 in)
length of the model = 1.148 ft

Going back to the calculation for the ratio,
ratio = (1.148 ft)/21 ft
ratio = 0.055

Therefore, the measurements used in the model is equal to 0.055 times the actual dimensions.

Error may occur because of the number of significant figures measured for rounding up or down of the answers after each calculation.