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Eratosthenes measured the size of Earth by using the Sun's angles, as well as a bit of geometry.

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How did eratosthenes determine the size of the earth?

Eratosthenes determined the size of the Earth by measuring the angle of the shadow cast by a vertical stick in two different locations on the same day. By comparing the angles at the two locations and knowing the distance between them, he was able to calculate the Earth's circumference.


Who measured the size of the earth using a shadow stick and knowing the distance between two cities?

Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician and astronomer, measured the size of the Earth using a shadow stick in the city of Alexandria and knowing the distance to the city of Syene. By observing the angle of the shadow at each location and using basic geometry, he was able to calculate the Earth's circumference.


How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth in 240 BC?

Eratosthenes estimated the size of Earth in 240 BC by comparing the angles of the shadows cast by sticks in two different cities on the same day. By calculating the difference in the angles, he was able to determine the circumference of the Earth with impressive accuracy for the time period.


Ertaosthenes determined the circumference of earth by conducting an experiment what are the steps?

Eratosthenes calculated the Earth's circumference by measuring shadows at two different locations at the same time. He then used the angles of the shadows cast by a vertical stick to calculate the Earth's circumference using geometry and trigonometry. By comparing the shadow angles at two different locations, Eratosthenes was able to estimate the Earth's size accurately.


Who is erasthostenis?

Eratosthenes was an ancient Greek philosopher who devised a way to measure the size of the earth. He noted the time when the sun shone straight down a deep well in Egypt, and how long it took before the sun was directly overhead at another location, and then had a runner estimate the distance between the two locations. He knew what fraction of a day the difference in time represented, and he knew that the measured distance was the same fraction of the earth's circumference. I don't know what number he came up with, but considering the methods he used, he was surprisingly close to the accurate answer. Notice that although he was working a couple of thousand years ago, he was assuming a spherical earth, not a flat earth.

Related Questions

In 250 BC who determined the size of the earth?

Eratosthenes


How did Eratosthenes determined the size of the Earth?

The used an orange


Who made the first attempt to determine the size of the earth?

Eratosthenes


The first accurate measurement of the size of Earth was made by .?

Eratosthenes


Who discovered the earths curcumference?

The Greek mathematician and astronomer Eratosthenes is credited with calculating the Earth's circumference around 240 B.C. using the angle of the sun's rays at two different locations and the distance between those locations. This method provided a reasonably accurate estimate of the Earth's size.


How did eratosthenes determine the size of the earth?

Eratosthenes determined the size of the Earth by measuring the angle of the shadow cast by a vertical stick in two different locations on the same day. By comparing the angles at the two locations and knowing the distance between them, he was able to calculate the Earth's circumference.


Who were the first people to calculate the size of the Earth and the Earth-Moon distance?

The first people to calculate the size of the Earth and the Earth-Moon distance were the ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer, Eratosthenes, and the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician, Hipparchus.


What year did Eratosthenes die?

Eratosthenes is famous for making the first good measurement of the size of the Earth. He lived from 276 to 194 B.C. and died in Alexandria at age 82. He was rumored to have starved himself to death after going blind.


Who measured the size of the earth using a shadow stick and knowing the distance between two cities?

Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician and astronomer, measured the size of the Earth using a shadow stick in the city of Alexandria and knowing the distance to the city of Syene. By observing the angle of the shadow at each location and using basic geometry, he was able to calculate the Earth's circumference.


How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth in 240 BC?

Eratosthenes estimated the size of Earth in 240 BC by comparing the angles of the shadows cast by sticks in two different cities on the same day. By calculating the difference in the angles, he was able to determine the circumference of the Earth with impressive accuracy for the time period.


Who was the first person to calculate the earth circumference?

The first person credited with accurately calculating the Earth's circumference was the ancient Greek mathematician and astronomer Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC. He did so by measuring the angle of the sun's rays at two different locations and using simple geometry to estimate the Earth's size.


Who said that the earth is a sphere?

Columbus said the earth was sphere when he traveled to America