to all you math wizards?

Question

there is a round pond that i run around daily, i want to know how can i measure the distance of the pond without using a ruler or a tape measure

Answer 1

The pond is not likely round enough or a pedometer accurate enough for more than a rough estimate.

A better alternative would be to use Google Earth. It has a measuring utility that lets you define your path and will tell you distances more accurate than the above.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Time yourself as you run around 1/4 of the pond. Then stop and rest. Run around another 1/4 of the pond, then stop and rest. Do this twice more to get back to where you started. Take the average of the four times (add up the times and divide by 4).

Now find yourself a high school track. Start at the starting line of the inside lane. Run for the amount of time you got above, then stop and rest. A track is 400m around. The straight parts are 100m each, and the curved parts are also 100m each. So you should be able to get a good idea how far you ran. If you want more accuracy, repeat with another run (if you did it four times you have run the distance of the pond, but I figure if you're running around a pond, you don't like tracks). Take the average distance you ran on the track and multiply by four. That should give you a really good idea of the distance of the pond.

Or forget everything I just wrote and just use Google Earth to zoom in on the pond. You should be able to find the diameter of the pond (from one end to the other) and multiply by pi (3.14) to get the circumference.

Answer 3

The simplest or most practical way would either be to drive around it with a car or bike or something else that has an odometer, or to find it on a map that has a good scale. Google Earth might work.

Most math-based answers will depend on determining the width (diameter) of the lake, which you'll only be able to determine with some trigonometry or the like. Best bet, though, will be to figure out how long it takes you to run some distance that you know the measurement of, and set that up in a proportion with the time it takes you to run around the lake. For instance, if you can run 400 feet in 30 seconds, and it takes you 8 minutes (that's 480 seconds) to run around the lake, then:

400 / 30 = x / 480

We solve for x by multiplying both sides by 480:

480 * 400 / 30 = x = 6400 feet, which is about 1.2 miles.

Of course, I made up the numbers. Your mileage may vary. (Heh.) Hope that helps!

Answer 4

Get a friend to stand at the exact opposite side of the pond from you (alternatively -- if you have no friends -- pick a rock). Measure the angle between your eyes and his feet. You now have a triangle with his feet, your feet and your eyes as the three vertices. You also know that it is a right triangle with a height equal to the height of your eyes. Simple triganometry will tell you the diameter of the pond. Multiply this by Pi to get the circumference.

Answer 5

Have yourself and a friend hold a flashlight on opposite ends of the pond. You start a stopwatch and flash the light at your friend, then when he sees your light he will flash you back. Stop the watch when you see his light. Plug the time in seconds into this formula:

d = 186,000 * t

That will be the distance in miles.

Answer 6

all you need to measure is your step...then, count the steps around the pond...multiply them together and now you know the distance around the pond!

Answer 7

Get a pedometer that clips to you. You programme it with the length of your stride and it measures how far you run/walk. And they are small so you won't look weird with a tape measure!

Answer 8

find the radius of the circle by estimating the distance from where you are at to the middle of the pond and then use the formula pi multiplied by the radius multiplied by the radius multiplied by 2

Answer 9

I think if you count how many steps it takes to go around the pond it would give the mesurement!

Answer 10

Use a pedometer that counts how far round sumtin is