Center Court PiCasso

A) Your internet start-up ship came in and you sold your company for $1 billion. You next fulfilled your dream of owing a professional basketball team. Thinking that it would look great on TV, you have always wanted to see a huge basketball painted in your home court’s center circle (6’ radius). The league is okay with your plan and you found an artist who will paint it charging $100/hour, estimating that it will take 30 minutes per square foot. How much will the super graphic set you back?

B) Wait! You are contacted by a techie who can shoot a digital photo of a real regulation basketball, paint the center circle with photo sensitive material and then enlarge the image of the basketball with a projector to “burn it” onto the floor. The techie wants $2,000. Which is the better deal?

C) How many times larger is the circumference on the center court graphic than an actual basketball circumference? Assume that the basketball has a circumference of 30.15” (NBA regulations allow a slight range in basketball dimensions).

D) Bonus basketball question: The inside diameter of the hoop is 18”. Assume that the basketball has a circumference of 30.15” and calculate what is the area of clearance in square inches between the widest point of the ball and the hoop when you score your three-pointer from mid-court?


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