1. Nuffield Free-Standing Mathematics Activities
Coastal erosion B Integrating area

2. Disappearing coasts ‘Understanding how our coasts are eroded is vital in a future of climate change and sea level rise’ – Catherine Poulton coastal sedimentologist, British Geological Survey
© East Riding Council

3. How can we estimate how much land will be lost over a period of time?
There is a variable rate of land erosion at different points on the coastline.
How can we estimate how much land will be lost over a period of time? 3

4. To compare and compute a variety of methods for approximating areas/integrals use the Shodor Interactivate: InteGreat! 4

5. Explore more at www.coastalexplorer.eastriding.gov.uk
News item on Holbeck Hall Hotel collapse 5

6. Reflect on your work
What features of the coastline indicate whether a quadratic or a cubic function is likely to give the better fit?
What methods could you use to find models?
How would you decide which was the best model?
Describe how integration can be used to estimate land loss due to coastal erosion.