Using satellite technology (global positioning system) to teach the spherical polarcoordinate system

Abstract

Students discover the equivalence between plausible geographic variables(co-latitude and longitude) of the Earth and less-familiar geometric variables(polar and azimuthal angles) of spherical polar coordinates by collecting andanalysing positional data recorded during field exercises with a handheld globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver. This pedagogical approach to teachingspherical geometry, based on field experience rather than classroom theory, usesGPS technology to capture the curiosity of contemporary students, technical orotherwise, who might not normally find the topic of the spherical polar coordinatesystem comprehensible, relevant or interesting.