From the Tether Problem to the Involute of a Circle

angle

0

number of sides

4

shape

Polygon

Circle

A cow is tethered at the point

(1,0)

to a black building of semiperimeter

P

. The figure represents half of the area it can graze with a leash equal to

P

. Change the angle to see what happens as the cow moves around the building. The shape of the base of the building can be either a regular polygon or a circle. If you choose a polygon, use the slider to increase the number of sides.