Mr. Jones of Acme Amusement Rides Inc. has a great idea for a new ride; the Glacier Express! It will be a slow paced, cool affair with each party in their own iceberg. To attract attention and keep with the realistic theme of other rides, the Glacier Express will be the size of a real glacier and made out of ice.
To keep the Express in the park, Mr. Jones indicates that the "ice" should ride on natural stones, not ball bearings. Therein lies the problem: Mr. Jones wants to know how durable the local rock types are. Will he have to replace the rock bearings every week, once a year, or only after 50 or more years?
Also, Mr. Jones is thinking of dumping the riders off into an ice-cold stream at the end of the ride. Will the stones in this stream have to be replaced more frequently than the pebbles in the glacier part of the ride?
Since you have just collected some data on the erosion of the local rocks you are in a position to accept Mr. Jones offer. Thus Mr. Jones has made you an attractive business deal (100 pts) to estimate how long the local rocks will last.
How do you proceed?
Special notes for this report