Benjamin Banneker
- Surveyor
Marlys Henke developed the following multicultural activity for her mathematics class:
"Surveyor: Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)
Background Information: Benjamin Banneker was one of those rare humans who have exceptional talent in many fields. Banneker was born on a farm near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1731, the son of a free mother and a slave father. As a free man himself, Banneker was allowed to attend an elementary school for free Negroes. While there, he showed both an interest and skill in working with mechanical things. While still a young man, he built the first wooden clock made in America.
Over the next 20 years, Banneker developed his wide range of talents in mathematics, surveying, geology, physics, and astronomy. In 1789, Thomas Jefferson recommended Banneker for a position on the commission to survey and plan the city of Washington, D.C. Banneker was one of two surveyors on the commission for two years. In 1791, he returned to his home in Maryland. Beginning in 1791, he published the first of his seven yearly almanacs entitled Benjamin Banneker's Almanac and Ephemeris. He reported his 17-year-cycle calculation for the locust plagues in his almanac.
Problem: To make a scale drawing of a property lot, a surveyor uses the scale lengths and the bearings of each side of the lot. A bearing of N 80 degrees W means to face north and turn west an angle of 80 degrees.
To make a drawing of the side of the property lot signified by N 80 degrees W, 40 m, start at point A by making a north-south line. Line up your protractor with the 0 degree line to the north (indicated by the first letter of the bearing) and measure 80 degrees to the west (indicated by the last letter of the bearing). Draw line AB 4 cm long for a scale of 1 cm = 10 m.
Draw each of these five property lots using a scale of 1 cm = 10 m:
Reference: Consumer and Career Mathematics, by Bolstar, Woodburn, and Gipson, 1978, pp. 240-241. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman & Company."