THE SPHERICAL EARTH

Prepared by:
Jay-Ann A. Domen
 1. discuss the thoughts of
philosophers about the shape of the
Earth;
LESSON 2. describe the size of the Earth;
OBJECTIVES and
3. realize the importance of the
shape of the Earth
 PYTHAGORAS PLATO ERATOSTHENES

GREEK 500 BC 500-430 BC 384-322 BC 276-194 BC

PHILOSOPHERS

ANAXAGORAS ARISTOTLE
 He believed circles and
spheres to be perfect forms
suggested that Earth should
PYTHAGORAS be a sphere just like that of the
(500 BC) Moon’s shape.
 He supported Pythagoras’ idea on a
spherical Earth. He observed that the
Earth’s shadow was reflected on the
Moon’s surface during a lunar
eclipse. The reflected shadow was
circular, and the sphere can only cast
ANAXAGORAS a circular shadow.
(500-430 BC)
 He adopted the idea of a
spherical Earth in his 4th and
final dialogue Phaedo, given in a
crowd and somewhat led to a
PLATO broader circulation 400 BC.
 He presented ideas about a
spherical Earth base on the
position of the North Star,
phases of the Moon, shape of
the Sun and Moon, and ship’s
disappearance when they sail
ARISTOTLE to the horizon.
(384-322 BC)
 MOON
First, as the Moon
emerges from Earth’s
shadow during the
Moon’s eclipse, the
shape of the shadow
seen on the Moon is
always round.
 NORTH STAR
The North Star has
been widely accepted
as a fixed star in the
sky, but when people
traveled towards the
equator, the star can
be seen closer to the
horizon.
DISAPPEARING
SHIPS
The Greeks observed
that the ship became
smaller and then its hull
disappeared first before
the sail as if it was being
enveloped by the water
until it completely
disappeared.
 He argued that the Earth is
spherical through the
difference of the shadows cast
at Alexandria and Syene at the
same time of the day.

ERATOSTHENES
(276-194 BCE)
SHADOWS CAST
AT
ALEXANDRIA
AND SYENE
Eratosthenes strengthens
Aristotle’s argument that
the Earth is spherical
through his observation
and calculations.
 He found out that in
Alexandria, the Sun
makes an angle of 7.2°
from the vertical while
0° in Syene. To explain
the difference, he
hypothesized that the
light rays coming from
the sun are parallel, and
the Earth is curved.
LET’S PLAY!
The difference of
shadows cast at
Alexandria and
Syene

ERATOSTHENE
Earth should be a
sphere because a
sphere is a perfect
form.

PYTHAGORAS
Cited that the North
Star should be seen
at the same time if
the Earth was flat.

ARISTOTLE
 The first to observe
that the shadow cast
by Earth during
lunar eclipse is
circular.
ANAXAGORAS
 Spread the idea of
spherical Earth
through his dialogue
Phaedo

PLATO
 The Earth should be a
sphere because the
Earth’s shadow to the
Moon is always round
during the lunar eclipse.

TRUE
 The North Star is used as
an argument to prove that
the Earth is spherical as it
can be seen at a fixed
position at different
locations.

DIFFERENT
When ships travel on the
horizon, the hulls
disappeared first before
the sail as if it sinks.

TRUE
 Eratosthenes observed
that the Sun is directly
overhead at Syene and at
7 ̊ at Alexandria.

TRUE
 The Earth is flat.

SPHERICAL/
OBLATE SPHEROID
WHAT COULD LIFE ON EARTH BE
LIKE IF IT IS NOT A SPHERE?
-Gravity would work very
differently
-There would be no time zones,
as the sun would rise and set at
the same time across the entire
face of the world
-There would be no
difference in climate
between the “poles” and the
“equator”
-Coriolis forces would work
differently
-There would be no horizon
as such; if you could get high
enough to see over any
intervening hills (or waves),
you could see clear to the
edge of the world
-It’s unlikely that the Earth would
have a magnetic field. Our magnetic
field depends on a combination of
the Earth rotating and there being a
liquid core that conducts electricity.
This would mean we would all be
dead from solar or cosmic radiation.
 THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS
WHO BELIEVED THAT THE
EARTH WAS SPHERICAL ARE
PYTHAGORAS, ANAXAGORAS,
PLATO, ARISTOTLE, AND
ERATOSTHENES.
ARISTOTLE ARGUMENTS
-The shape of the shadow of the earth seen
on the moon is always round during lunar
eclipse
-the north star can be seen at a different
position at a different location.
-The ship’s hulls disappeared first before the
sail. It sinks underwater until it completely
disappeared as ships travel on the horizon.
 ERATOSTHENES
-The difference between the
shadow cast at Alexandria (7 ̊ )
and Syene (0 ̊ ) proves that the
earth was spherical.
Assignment: (do an advance reading)

Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the

Earth through his calculations. He measured the
distance in Alexandria to be 5000 stadia north of
Syene. (The stadium was a Greek unit of length,
derived from the length of the racetrack in a stadium.)
One (1) stadium is about 0.167 km today. Remember
in our discussion that from Alexandria to Syene, there
is 360 ̊ circumference. Given these values, calculate
the circumference of the Earth in kilometers through
the measurements of Eratosthenes.
Given: 5000 stadia—Alexandria to Syene in stadia
1 stadium—0.167 km
7 ̊ -angle between Alexandria and Syene
360 ̊ -Total circumference of the Earth in degrees
Ask: Circumference in kilometers=?
Solution: (1) Convert 5000 stadia to kilometers
(2) Let x be the circumference of the Earth in
kilometers
(3) Use ratio and proportion*
Given: 5000 stadia—Alexandria to Syene in stadia
1 stadium—0.167 km
7 ̊ -angle between Alexandria and Syene
360 ̊ -Total circumference of the Earth in degrees
Ask: Circumference in kilometers=?
Solution: (1) Convert 5000 stadia to kilometers
(2) Let x be the circumference of the Earth in
kilometers
(3) Use ratio and proportion*
*Clue: Angle between Alexandria and Syene is to the distance in
Alexandria to Syene in kilometers is equal to 360 ̊ is to the
circumference of the Earth in kilometers
 
Guide Questions:
1. Is the measurement of Eratosthenes the same value as that of the
known value of the Earth’s circumference, which is 40 000 km? If it
is not, is it smaller or larger?
2. Is the difference between Eratosthenes’ calculation and the
known value of the Earth’s circumference small or huge
3. What can you say about the ingenuity of Eratosthenes?