Q: In baseball, the baseline is a segment connecting the bases. A shortstop is told to play back 3 yd from the baseline and exactly the same distance from second base and third base. Describe how the shortstop could estimate the correct spot. There are 30 yd between bases. Assume that the shortstop has a stride of 36 in.
The answer to this question is: Pace off 15 strides (15 yd) from the third base, make a 90 degree left turn, and count off three more strides (3 yd).
I don't really understand how my teacher got this so can someone please explain to me how to get this answer step by step?
you need to note that one pace is one yard.
Now the instructions should make sense, since 15 paces is halfway from 3rd base to 2nd.
To estimate the correct spot, the shortstop can follow these steps:
1. Start at the third base.
2. Measure the distance from the third base to the shortstop's desired spot, which is 3 yards or 9 feet.
- Since 1 yard equals 3 feet, 3 yards equals 3 x 3 = 9 feet.
- Convert the 9 feet into inches: 9 feet x 12 inches/foot = 108 inches.
3. Determine the shortstop's stride length.
- The question states that the shortstop has a stride of 36 inches.
4. Calculate the number of strides the shortstop needs to take to reach the desired spot.
- Divide the total distance (108 inches) by the stride length (36 inches):
- 108 inches ÷ 36 inches/stride = 3 strides.
5. Pace off 15 strides from the third base.
- Each stride is 36 inches, so 15 strides would be:
- 15 strides x 36 inches/stride = 540 inches.
- Convert 540 inches into yards by dividing by 36:
- 540 inches ÷ 36 inches/yard = 15 yards.
6. Once the shortstop has paced off 15 strides, they should make a 90-degree left turn.
7. Finally, they should count off three more strides from the left turn to find the correct spot.
- Each stride is 36 inches, so three strides would be:
- 3 strides x 36 inches/stride = 108 inches.
- Convert 108 inches into yards by dividing by 36:
- 108 inches ÷ 36 inches/yard = 3 yards.
By following these steps, the shortstop can estimate the correct spot by pacing off 15 strides from the third base, making a 90-degree left turn, and counting off three more strides from the left turn.