Things You'll Need
Measuring tape
Scientific calculator
The floor of a swimming pool typically has a significant slope, so one end is shallow and the other end is deeper. This allows younger children to use the shallow end of the wading pool, while older swimmers can use the deep end for diving. The slope of the swimming pool is the angle between the swimming pool floor and the horizontal plane. This angle depends on the length of the pool and the height differences of its two ends.
Step 1
Measure the depth of the water at one corner of the pool, using the tape measure. Assume this depth is 6 feet in this example.
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Step 2
Measure the depth of the water at the other end of the pool. Assume this depth is 2 feet for this example.
Step 3
Subtract the two measurements. In this example 6 minus 2 equals 4 feet.
Step 4
Measure the length of the pool. Assume the length of the pool is 23 feet in this example.
Step 5
Divide the difference in depth between the two ends of the pool by the pool length to obtain the tangent of the slope's included angle. The difference in depth is 4 feet and the length is 23 feet, so the tangent of the included angle is 4 divided by 23, which equals 0.174.
Step 6
Determine the pool's slope in degrees by calculatig the inverse tangent of the included angle, using the scientific calculator With the tangent of the included angle at 0.174, the slope of the swimming pool will be the inverse tangent of 0.174, which is about 9.87 degrees.
Tip
Scientific calculators have trig functions like inverse tangent.
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