Chapter 7 Projects
SYSTEMS OF EQUATIONS

RESEARCH PROJECT: Zeno's Paradoxes

Zeno of Elea was born at about the same time that Pythagoras died. He is responsible for three paradoxes that have come to be known as Zeno's paradoxes. One of the three has to do with a race between Achilles and a tortoise. Achilles is much faster than the tortoise, but the tortoise has a head start. According to Zeno's method of reasoning, Achilles can never pass the tortoise because each time he reaches the place where the tortoise was, the tortoise is gone. Research Zeno's paradox concerning Achilles and the tortoise. Put your findings into essay form that begins with a definition for the word "paradox." Then use Zeno's method of reasoning to describe a race between Achilles and the tortoise if Achilles runs at 10 miles per hour, the tortoise at 1 mile per hour, and the tortoise has a 1-mile head start. Next, use the methods shown in this chapter to find the distance at which Achilles reaches the tortoise and the time at which Achilles reaches the tortoise. Conclude your essay by summarizing what you have done and showing how the two results you have obtained form a paradox.