GEOG 111 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Aswan, Subsolar Point
24 May 2019
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The greek philosopher eratosthenes is credited with establishing the first accurate measurement of the circumference of the earth. The following questions explore the measurements he made and compare them to modern measurements of earth circumference. On june 22nd, eratosthenes measured the angle of the noon-day sun (ans) at the well of syene in southern egypt, at the approximate latitude of 23 north. Eratosthenes estimated the distance between alexandria and syene to be about 795 km and using simple geometry he determined the angle to the centre of the earth between alexandria and syene was 7. 2 . Since the earth is a circle, and there are. 360 in a circle, calculate eratosthenes" estimate for the circumference of the. Use your textbook to determine the current circumference of the earth from north to south. By how much was eratosthenes in error? (give your answer in kilometres).
