Rolling Thunder River Company
We go to McCaysville to meet a group a people who claim their jobs are “better than your vacation.” They’re river guides at Rolling Thunder River Company, a white water rafting company where the employees, surprisingly, still use math to do those jobs. They also use a host of certifications to ensure customer safety. Oh, and being an Eagle Scout doesn’t hurt either.
Rolling Thunder River Company
We go to McCaysville to meet a group a people who claim their jobs are “better than your vacation.” They’re river guides at Rolling Thunder River Company, a white water rafting company where the employees, surprisingly, still use math to do those jobs. They also use a host of certifications to ensure customer safety. Oh, and being an Eagle Scout doesn’t hurt either.
Science
Analyze and interpret data to identify patterns in the relationships between speed and distance, and velocity and acceleration.
Ask questions to develop explanations about the similarities and differences between electromagnetic and mechanical waves.
Develop and use a model to compare and contrast how light and sound waves are reflected, refracted, absorbed, diffracted or transmitted through various materials.
Analyze and interpret data to predict patterns in the relationship between density of media and wave behavior (i.e., speed).
Plan and carry out an investigation that demonstrates how surface water and groundwater act as the major agents of physical and chemical weathering.
Construct an explanation that relates the past and present actions of ice, wind, and water to landform distribution and landscape change.
Construct an argument that analyzes the production and characteristics of sounds waves.
Analyze and interpret data to explain how different media affect the speed of sound and light waves.
Develop and use models to explain the changes in sound waves associated with the Doppler Effect.
1. If the river rafting company is making money using the river but they don't own the river, how is that possible?
2. Many occupations require a license to work in that industry (hint: teaching is one). List a few others that you can recall. Do you think that more or less jobs should be licensed? Should river guides be licensed? Why or why not?
Hydraulics: the science that deals with ways to use liquid (such as water) when it is moving
CFS: cubic feet per second is a measure of volume flow rate
Current Meter: a device used to measure water flow
Velocity: the speed of something in a given direction
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler: a device that bounces sound waves off the water in order to measure water current velocities
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Special Thanks
Bobbye Miller, William Scoggins, Matthew Arrowsmith, Laura Hughes, Huey Lamb
This content was developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. However, this content does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
