Today From Bedtime Math: Speed Sliding: The Real Deal

We love waterslides here at Bedtime Math: just last week we celebrated the world record-breaking slip 'n slide. But a big, roller-coaster-like waterslide with plastic ramps soaring dozens of feet into the air? That's the real deal, and the world now has a new record-breaking one. The Verruckt in Kansas City, MO is a ridiculous 168 feet tall. After sending you down the first terrifying plunge at nearly 70 miles per hour, it brings you back up to the sky for another 50-foot fall. Since the slide isn't open to riders yet, someone strapped a camera to a sandbag and slid it down the slide to get a video of the view, which you can watch to see what it would feel like to ride this thing. Given that verruckt means "insane" in German, even without watching you can probably guess.

Now here's some thrill-seeking math~

Wee ones: If you and 3 friends all slide down together, how many of you are sliding?

Little kids: Which is higher, the 168-foot drop or the 50-foot drop?  Bonus: If you zoom down at 70 miles per hour and your friend zooms at 2 miles an hour faster, how fast does your friend slide?

Big kids: For the 168-foot drop, the slide ramp itself is a little longer since it's on an angle. If it's just 31 feet longer than the drop, how many feet of sliding do you get?  Bonus: If for each ride you wait in line for 20 minutes and then slide for just 2 minutes, what's the greatest number of rides you can swing between 2 pm to 3:30 pm?

Answers:

Wee ones: 4 people.

Little kids: The 168-foot drop.  Bonus: 72 miles per hour.

Big kids: 199 feet.  Bonus: 5 rides: since you have 90 minutes, you can take 1 ride for the first 2 minutes, then 4 rounds of waiting and riding to fill the remaining 88 minutes.