ERATOSTHENES - CIRCUMFERENCE

Calculation of the circumference of the Earth

Iuliana Ciubuc- Busteni-Romania

I. Solar angle calculation

1
I.1. Busteni- Solar angle calculation

Tan α= 41.2 cm/30 cm = 1.373º

Arctan = 52.9º
α Busteni= 53.9º

I.2. Solar angle calculation

2
tan α= 143.5cm / 100.0cm = 1.435 º

arctan α = 55.128º
α Sălcuţa-Căuşeni, R. Moldova= 55.1º

3
II. Calculation of the latitude distance between schools (Salcuta-Buşteni)
d( Salcuta- Busteni) =( lat.Salcuta- lat . Busteni)*60*1.852
d( Salcuta- Busteni)= (46.599º- 45.416º)*60*1.852= 131.5 km

III. Calculation of the circumference of the Earth

circumference = [ºd( Salcuta-Busteni)*360] / (α Salcuta– α Busteni)

c = (131.5 km *360º) / (55.1º - 53.9º) =47340/ 1.2 = 39450 km

c = 39450 km

IV. Graphic representation of the Earth's circumference using the

GeoGebra platform ?
C= 39300 km