Senior  VCAL  Numeracy  –  Wonders  of  the  World  Investigation  

VCAL  Senior  

 Task  1:  Choose  either  the  Seven  Ancient  OR  New  Wonders  of  the  World    Task  2:  Research  each  Wonder  to  find  the  following:  

a. Picture  

b. Location  –  country  &  nearest  city/town  

c. Find   the   latitude  &   longitude   of   ancient  wonders   (Must   be   in  

form   of   degrees,   minutes   &   seconds   e.g.   38°11’56”S,  

145°29’21”E).  

d. Construction  date  

e. Size  in  metres  

f. Still  standing  (how  old)  or  destroyed  (date  &  how)  

 Task  3:  Road  Travel  –  To  begin  your  journey,  you  need  to  get  to  Melbourne  

Airport.  

a. Calculate   manually   the   distance   from   your   house   to   the  

airport.    Mark  the  route  on  your  relevant  map.  

b. Check  your  accuracy   for   the  distance  by  using  google  maps  or  

www.distancefrom.com.  How   accurate  were   you?   Explain   any  

differences.  

c. Assuming   your   road   transport   has   a   fuel   consumption   of   9.5  

litres/100km,   calculate   how   many   litres   of   petrol   you   would  

use  for  your  trip  to  the  airport.  Show  all  calculations.  

d. If  petrol  price  averages  119.3c,   find  the  total  cost  of  petrol   for  

all  the  airport  trips  in  dollars.  

e. Assuming   your   road   transport   travels   at   an   average   of  

80km/hr,   calculate   the   travel   time   to   the   airport   Show   all  

calculations.  

Senior  VCAL  Numeracy  –  Wonders  of  the  World  Investigation  

VCAL  Senior  

Task  4:  Visit  the  Seven  Wonders  of  the  World.  

Your   aim   is   to   visit   each   of   the   Wonders   starting   and   finishing   at  

Melbourne.  NB:  Scale  should  read  1cm  =  660km  

a. List  each  Wonder  of  the  World  &  the  nearest  city  to  each  one.  

b. Map  the  location  of  the  Wonders  &  nearest  cities  on  your  map.  

c. Illustrate  on  your  map  the  route  you  will  take  for  your  trip.  

d. Using   the  scale  on   the  map,  determine   the  distance  manually  

between  each  city  “as  the  crow  flies”.  Show  all  calculations.  

e. What  is  the  total  distance  travelled?  

f. Check   your   accuracy   for   your   answer   in   part   e.   by   using:  

http://tjpeiffer.com/crowflies.html.   How   accurate   were   you?  

Explain  any  differences.  

g. State  the  quadrant  bearings  from:  

i. Melbourne  to  your  first  destination  

ii. Your  first  destination  to  your  second  destination  

h. State  the  true  bearings  from:  

i. Second  last  destination  to  the  last  destination  

ii. Last  destination  to  Melbourne  

i. Assuming   your   aircraft   travels   at   an   average   of   900km/hr,  

calculate   travel   time   for   all   individual   legs   of   your   journey.  

Show  all  calculations.  Answer  in  hours  &  minutes  e.g.  4  hours  6  

minutes.  

j. What  is  the  total  length  of  time  for  the  journey?  

k. You   are   flying   in   a   4-­‐seat   Cessna   aeroplane.   It   burns  

approximately  32  litres  per  hour.  

i. How  many  litres  do  you  need  for  your  trip?  

ii. How  much  will  it  cost  assuming  it  is  $1.04  per  litre?  

 

Senior  VCAL  Numeracy  –  Wonders  of  the  World  Investigation  

VCAL  Senior  

Task  5:  Itinerary  –  MUST  show  all  calculations.  

Taking   into   account   the   travel   time   from  your   home   to   the   airport,  

travel  between  cities,  travel  to  the  Wonders  of  the  world,  time  sight  

seeing  and  any  other  relevant  factors,  write  an  itinerary  for  this  trip  

including  the  total  number  of  days.  The  following  websites  may  assist  

you:  www.distancesfrom.com  or  google  maps.  Complete  the  itinerary  

in  a  table.  For  example:    Date   Time   Destination   Meal  Breaks   Tourist  visits  

                               

Task  6:  Summary  

a. Rate   this   investigation   in   terms   of   interest,   relevant   skills  

learnt  and  how  it  could  be  improved.