The photograph above shows the Golden Arch. Your job is to find a function y = f(x) describing the curve formed along the top of the mountain. You will also need to specify the domain, or lowest and highest value of the variable x, of the function.
You can mark points, or find the x and y coordinates of the function, by clicking on the photograph. You can fine tune the selected point by clicking at the arrows at the four sides of the photograph. Each click on an arrow moves the cursors one pixel in the direction indicated by the arrow.
In the text boxes below, enter the following items: the low and high end of the domain (which are the end pixels of the part of the picture that contains the curve), and a function that approximates the curve formed by the mountain (for example x^4 - x + 1). My equation was 1,500,000,000,000*sin(3.14x)+170.543. Can you do better?
After you have entered the three items in the form below, click the "Try it!!" button to see the curve superimposed on the photograph.
After you have found a function that closely describes the curve of the mountain, discuss why it does not do as well as you had hoped.