Investigating the Mathematics of Center-Pivot Irrigation

Ottman investigates the mathematics of center-pivot irrigation. Among other things, flying across the US on a sunny day, airline passengers in window seats may have noticed the seemingly endless fields of bright green circles dotting the landscape in parts of the West and Midwest. These circular fie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Mathematics teacher 2010-12, Vol.104 (5), p.387-392
Main Authors: Ottman, Larry, Lynch-Davis, Kathleen, Goodson-Espy, Tracy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algebra
Circles
Geometric shapes
Geometry
Mathematical models
Mathematics education
Mathematics teachers
Squares
Tangents
Teaching methods
Technology Tips
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Summary:Ottman investigates the mathematics of center-pivot irrigation. Among other things, flying across the US on a sunny day, airline passengers in window seats may have noticed the seemingly endless fields of bright green circles dotting the landscape in parts of the West and Midwest. These circular fields are the result of a technology called fixed-length, center-pivot irrigation, in which a wheeled scaffolding of pipe, sometimes up to a half mile in length, rotates around a fixed point that is connected to a water source. Plots of land are seldom, if ever, circular. Usually, they are square, rectangular, or irregularly shaped. However, because fanning is a profession that often has a low margin of profit, farmers must use their valuable resources as efficiently as possible. Hence, the issue is how to maximize the packing of these circles within the existing geographic constraints of terrain features, roads, rivers, and land boundaries.
ISSN:0025-5769
2330-0582