Question

1. how many gps satellites orbit the earth?
2. in your own words, describe how a single and often inexpensive phone or gps receiver communicates with multiple satellites in orbit.
3. how many satellites must a phone or gps receiver detect if you want to know a rough estimate of your location? why would more satellites be beneficial?
4. indiana is in which utm zone?
5. would tall buildings, dense tree canopy or heavy snowfall affect the use of your gps/phone unit?
6. describe four situations in which gps/phone gps might prove useful to the public.

a.
b.
c.
d.
reflection: what part of this lab surprised you? what parts did you find most relevant to your life?
reflection: why do we need gps attachments to our telephones? name something beneficial and something detrimental about this

Explanation:

1. The Global - Positioning System (GPS) has 24 satellites in orbit (plus some spares). These satellites are arranged in 6 orbital planes to ensure global coverage.
2. A GPS receiver listens for signals from multiple satellites. Each satellite sends a signal that includes its location and the time the signal was sent. The receiver uses the time - delay of the signals from different satellites to calculate its own position through a process called trilateration.
3. To get a rough estimate of location (2D position: latitude and longitude), a GPS receiver needs to detect at least 3 satellites. For a 3D position (including altitude), it needs 4 satellites. More satellites are beneficial because they can improve the accuracy of the position calculation, help in better resolving signal - blocking issues, and provide redundancy in case some satellites have signal problems.
4. Indiana is mainly in UTM zones 16 and 17. The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system divides the Earth into 60 zones, each 6 degrees of longitude wide.
5. Tall buildings, dense tree canopies, and heavy snowfall can affect GPS/phone units. Tall buildings can block or reflect GPS signals, causing multipath errors. Dense tree canopies can weaken the signals. Heavy snowfall can also attenuate the signals, reducing the accuracy or even causing a loss of signal lock.

12.
a. Navigation while driving: Helps drivers find the best routes, avoid traffic, and reach their destinations.
b. Hiking and outdoor activities: Allows hikers to know their location on a trail, find points of interest, and avoid getting lost.
c. Emergency services: Enables first - responders to quickly locate people in distress, especially in remote areas.
d. Package delivery: Helps delivery services optimize routes and track the location of packages in transit.

For the reflections, answers will vary based on individual experiences. For example, for "Why do we need GPS attachments to our telephones?", a beneficial aspect is enhanced navigation and location - based services like finding nearby restaurants or gas stations. A detrimental aspect could be privacy concerns as the phone's location can be tracked by third - parties.

Answer:

1. There are 24 operational GPS satellites (plus spares) orbiting the Earth.
2. A GPS receiver listens for time - stamped signals from satellites and uses time - delay to calculate position via trilateration.
3. At least 3 satellites for 2D, 4 for 3D; more improve accuracy and provide redundancy.
4. Indiana is mainly in UTM zones 16 and 17.
5. Yes, tall buildings can cause multipath errors, tree canopies and heavy snowfall can weaken signals.

12.
a. Navigation while driving
b. Hiking and outdoor activities
c. Emergency services
d. Package delivery