On June 21, a vertical stick in place A cast no shadow. On June 21 at noon, a vertical stick in place B gives an angle of 8° in the position shown in the accompanying drawing. Since the sun is so far away, sunlight arrives at the earth in parallel rays. With this assumption, it can be concluded that the earth is round and the central angle in the drawing must also be 8°. If the distance between A and B is 900 km, calculate the circumference of the earth and compare the answer with the circumference calculated by using the currently accepted radius of 6378 km.

On June 21, a vertical stick in place A cast no shadow. On June 21 at noon, a vertical stick in place B gives an angle of 8° in the position shown in the accompanying drawing. Since the sun is so far away, sunlight arrives at the earth in parallel rays. With this assumption, it can be concluded that the earth is round and the central angle in the drawing must also be 8°. If the distance between A and B is 900 km, calculate the circumference of the earth and compare the answer with the circumference calculated by using the currently accepted radius of 6378 km.

Trigonometry (MindTap Course List)

8th Edition

ISBN:9781305652224

Author:Charles P. McKeague, Mark D. Turner

Publisher:Charles P. McKeague, Mark D. Turner

Chapter7: Triangles

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1GP

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