Summary
| Subject keyword(s) | Analytic geometry, Circles, Circumference, Conic sections, Geometry, History, History/Policy/Law, Length, Mathematics, Mathematics history, Measurement, Number and operations, Plane geometry |
|---|---|
| Grade level | Middle School, High School, Informal Education |
| Intended audience | Learner |
| Resource type | Reference Material |
| Resource format | text, text/html |
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Associated Topics ||Dr. Math Home ||Search Dr. Math Measuring the Circumference of the Earth Date: 08/16/99 at 20:46:44From: MariaSubject: Geometry (World Geography)Hi,I have to prove the earth is round using a mathematical formula easy enough for any family member to use. My proof must contain a diagram, a mathematical formula, a solution to that formula, and the answer. I have done the other half of the research, which involved finding the first people to prove the earth was round (how they did so and when). I really need your help.Thank you so much,Maria Date: 08/17/99 at 12:21:20From: Doctor PetersonSubject: Re: Geometry (World Geography)Hi, Maria.Technically, you can't prove the earth is round using only math; you need some observations of the real world. I suspect that you are expected to report about how Eratosthenes determined the size of the earth in ancient Greek times. For that information, you could search either in Dr. Math or on the Web as a whole for "Eratosthenes" and "Earth." Basically, he knew the angle of the sun at the same time in two places a known distance apart, and from that determined the radius of the earth using a simple formula.But that really isn't an answer to the question as stated, and perhaps pointing this out might stir up some good discussions in your class. The fact is, Eratosthenes already KNEW that the earth was round; his calculations didn't prove it, and couldn't. Here's how you can show that this is true: find the data he used, then assume that the earth is flat and the sun is some distance above the surface at noon. See if you can calculate how high the sun is. You'll find that you can get an answer that works just as well as the answer he gave for the size of the earth. (There's an interesting relation between the two answers, too.) So if I believed that the earth was flat, I could give as good an explanation of his experiment as he could assuming that the earth is round. Nothing has been proved.In reality, the ancient Greeks and others knew the earth was round based on more general knowledge: that the earth's shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse is round; that ships disappear over the horizon; and so on. But none of these involve a formula. Finding Eratosthenes' method is undoubtedly the intention of your assignment. You can find the details in our archives or elsewhere.Since the explanation in our archives doesn't give a picture or the formula, here's a drawing of his setup. The sun is directly overhead in one place and at an angle in another place: | | / | /| | /A| no shadow | d / | *********** / | ****** | ****** |shadow *** | / *** *** | / *** * | / * ** | / ** * | / * * | / * * |A/ * * |/ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** ** * * *** *** *** *** ****** ****** ***********If you know the distance d to the place where the sun is directly overhead, and the angle A that the sun makes here, then we can say that d A --- = --- C 360where C is the circumference of the earth. Solve that for C and you're done.- Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Associated Topics: Middle School Conic Sections/Circles Middle School Geometry Middle School Higher-Dimensional Geometry Middle School History/Biography Middle School Measurement Search the Dr. Math Library: Find items containing (put spaces between keywords): Click only once for faster results: [ Choose "whole words" when searching for a word like age.] all keywords, in any orderat least one,that exact phrase parts of words whole words Submit your own question to Dr. Math [Privacy Policy][Terms of Use] Math Forum Home ||Math Library ||Quick Reference ||Math Forum Search Ask Dr. MathTM © 1994-2011 The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/