If the earth was a square cube, what would the length of it's 12 equal sides be; measured in miles?

Answer 1

The Earth's polar diameter is 7900 miles, and its equatorial diameter is 7927 miles, so we can take its mean diameter as 7918 miles. It has the same volume as a cube with edges of 6382 miles.

Answer 2

What?

It depends on how you "make believe" about this fantasy cube ...

Would you pick the lengths of the sides of the cube such that the "earth cube" would have the same volume as the earth?

If so then the answer would be the cuberoot of earths volume

let the side of the cube = x

radius of earth ~ 4000 miles

volume of the cube = volume of the earth

x^3 = 4/3 * pi * r^2

x = (4/3 * pi * r ^2)^(1/3)

x = about 400 miles

or would the earth just barely fit inside of this cube?

In this case the sides of the cube would be equal to the diameter of the earth. (earth is round enough for this to be a good estimate)

diameter of the earth ~ 8000 miles

look up better numbers if you need them

Answer 3

A cube has 6 sides, not 12.

The earth's surface area is 196935000 sq miles.

Divide 196935000 sq miles by 6 to find the area of each side of the cube = 32,822,500. The area of a square is length times height, which are equal, so if you find the sq. root of 32,822,500 you get (roughly) 5729.0924 miles for the length of each side.

Answer 4

Are you sure that's a cube? Is the size of this cube/dodecahedron based on surface area or volume?

Edit: I just now realized that you meant edges when you said 12. I naturally assumed faces. Cube it is.