Burning tent on an elliptical island
Our hero is camping on a elliptical island. From a distance she sees her tent burning.
She runs toward the water with her GOLD pail in hand, fills it and heads for her tent.
Toward what point on the shore should she run to travel the shortest distance?
Does this strategy always work?
Can the hero and tent be placed in spots so that getting water from any point on the shore would be equally good?
You can modify the shape of the ellipse by moving the foci. Is the problem any
simpler if you make the ellipse a circle?
This worksheet is a modified version of a worksheet of the same name created by Judah Schwartz: https://tube.geogebra.org/user/profile/id/25758