i need help!!!we have an homework assignment that we have to to prove mathematically that the world is a sphere.by finding the cirumference and i already know the circumfrence but i dont no how to get it!!!!!!!HELP!!!!!!!!
2007-09-02 12:32:34 · 4 answers · asked by jasmyne b 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
I think the first guy who did it used the shadow of a stick in one location. And then then the shadow of the same stick in another location of a known distance away. He measured the shortest shadow for the day. That way he knew he was comparing equal shadows. Then by comparing the difference between the two shadows and the known distance between the two sticks he calculated the circumference of the earth.
http://www.k12science.org/~jkoen/rwlo/Eratosthenes/overview/overview.shtml
2007-09-02 13:06:10 · answer #1 · answered by Zack 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What information do you have, and why can't you use pi?
"Proving" that the world is a sphere is a physics question, not a math question. Somebody had to go out and measure it. When they did, it was found that the world is *close* to a sphere, but not quite. It's off by 1 part in 298.
The radius at the equator is 6,378,137 meters, but at the poles it is 6,356,752.3 meters.
2007-09-02 12:44:42 · answer #2 · answered by morningfoxnorth 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can get a really long piece of string and walk around the earth holding the end having the other end tied to a tree...when you get back to the starting point you can measure the string.
2007-09-02 12:44:40 · answer #3 · answered by DeborahDel 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Very interesting topic.
Look at these sites.
http://www.algonet.se/~sirius/eaae/aol/market/collabor/erathost/
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Mathematics/Geometry/GEO0004.html
2007-09-02 14:04:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋