Low Gear

Aug 15, 2023

Okay, time for the new puzzler. This one is not that great, but it is what we have. Might be the worst one. But it is what we have. 

So, here we go.

A while back, we were driving in the mountains, down those long twisty mountain passes. And while were driving there, we saw signs that said, "Caution. 6% grade next three miles. Trucks use low gear."

Now, they must consider a 6% grade to be a serious grade for a motor vehicle. And the way a grade is defined is this. On a 6% grade, the elevation drops or rises six feet vertically for every 100 feet of road. So if you were driving horizontally for 100 feet, you would have gone up or down by six feet.

I know that doesn't seem like much. But if you think about it, 60 miles per hour means you're going 88 feet per second. So if we round up to 100, at a 6% grade, that means you are dropping 6 feet, every second or so, if you're going about 60 miles per hour. When you put it that way, it does seem like a lot. 

So, knowing this information, what would you guess is the steepest grade and percent of a drivable street in the city of San Francisco?

The city of San Francisco has some of the steepest streets that we know of. 

So, the question is, what's the steepest grade of a drivable street in the city of San Francisco? 

And for extra credit, what is the name of the steepest street?
 

Answer: 

Okay, answer time. 

This one was about the grades on steep roads. A 6% grade means the elevation drops or rises six feet vertically for every 100 feet of road. So if you were driving horizontally for 100 feet, you would have gone up or down by six feet. That doesn't seem like a lot, but if you're going 65 miles per hour, that would happen really fast. 

The puzzler was what street has the steepest grade in the city of San Francisco?

We got a lot of right answers to this one. I bet people just googled it... 

Anyway, the answer is Filbert Street in San Francisco. The section between Leavenworth and Hyde has a 31% grade. 

Looking online, it looks like there are others that are steeper now! It looks like Bradford over Thompkins has a 41% grade! 

Impressive.


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