ipl-logo

How Has Math Been Used To Measure The Circumference Of The Earth?

998 Words4 Pages

Links between mathematics and the world around us
Journal Entry 3

How has math been used to measure the circumference of the earth?

Throughout history people have tried to measure the size of the earth. With today’s satellite technology we know the earth’s circumference to be 40,075 km. However before this technology was invented a few bright individuals, such as Eratosthenes and Al-Biruni, were able to use mathematics to measure the earth’s circumference with astounding accuracy.
Timeline

During the Greek era many philosophers speculated about the shape of the earth. The idea of earth being a sphere shape was widely accepted among early Greeks. Pythagoras (570 - 495 BC) supported this belief with tales of ships disappearing bottom first over the horizon, and stars popping in and out of view over the horizon when travelling across sea. …show more content…

Plato (424 - 347 BC) guessed the circumference of the earth to be roughly between 62,800 and 74,000 km. In Egypt a Greek scholar by the name of Eratosthenes used mathematics to make a much more precise and accurate approximation of the earth’s circumference.
Eratosthenes knew that at midday on one day each year in Syene, a town in southern Egypt, there was no shadow at the bottom of a well. This meant that at midday during that day the sun was directly above Syene. At midday on the same day in the town of Alexandria, roughly 800 km to the North, a tower cast a shadow. Thus Eratosthenes knew that the sun was not directly above the town of Alexandria on midday that same

Show More
Related

Ap Euro Renaissance Dbq

746 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1500’s, Nicolaus Copernicus, developed a different layout of the universe and created the heliocentric model, where the Sun was the center (Doc C). Although Ptolemy’s layout was more detailed, Copernicus’ model was more accurate than Ptolemy’s. With the advancements in science, Andreas Vesalius dissected human corpses to better explain the human body (Doc

Read More

How Did Christopher Columbus Actually Prove The World Was Flat

98 Words | 1 Pages

Christopher Columbus did not actually prove the world was round. Many Europeans at the time did not think that the world was flat so,Was that really a discovery?Kids around the world have been taught that Columbus set sail in 1942 to find a way to the East Indies to show that he was not going to fall of the edge and the world was round not flat. Before,Christopher Columbus was born Aristotle actually had a document where he thought that the earth was a sphere. No one actually proved this but,even during his time no one thought the world was

Read More

How Did Ancient Greece Provided Greater Accomplishments

505 Words | 3 Pages

The Greeks were the first to say that the Earth was round with the proof. They also found out that the

Read More

Scientific Revolution Dbq

618 Words | 3 Pages

Most of the facts we got were from the Church. Church teachings included the Geocentric Theory. These ideas came from Aristotle. It states that everything was around the Earth. That statement was proved to be false later.

Read More

Dbq Islam Achievements

578 Words | 3 Pages

This form of math was created by Al-Khwarizmi, he studied Indian sources and later wrote a textbook about this type of math (Document 4). Muslim scholars also made many advances in trigonometry, astronomy and mapmaking. They developed ways to study astronomy and to create maps, by using trigonometry and other forms of math (Document 5). There was also great advances in science, science was used in many different parts of Islamic culture, such as religion were "The faithful... relied on" "astronomers to calculate the times of prayer and the direction on Mecca" (Document 1). Scholars also used astrolabes and armillary sphere 's in order to study the skies, so that they could "make calculations for their calendars and maps" (Document 5).

Read More

How Did Eratosthenes Contribute To Science

427 Words | 2 Pages

He measured the angle of the sun's parallel rays from the vertical and figured out it was 7.2 degrees. He also knew that the Earth's circumference was made up of 360 degrees, so 7.2 degrees would be about one-fiftieth of the circumference. He paid someone to find the distance between the two cities and got 5,000 stadia (the measurement for distance used at the time) and calculated that the circumference of the Earth was 250,000 stadia, or 25,000

Read More

Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?

635 Words | 3 Pages

The idea that everyone in Pre-Columbian times thought that the world was flat was a myth made up during the 18th century. The ancient greeks actually proved that the earth was round 2,000 years before Columbus was even born. 14,000 years before Columbus “discovered” the New World, Natives had crossed the Bering Strait and inhabited the land.

Read More

Christopher Columbus Research Papers

456 Words | 2 Pages

Most think Christopher Columbus was the person who disproved the theory of the world being flat, but there was many way before his time to figure out the same idea. The first world map was made in Greece in the 6th century B.C. by a man named Anaximander. His map obviously was not close to correct, as it only included three countries and continents: Europe, Libya, and Asia. However, there was one thing he got right, and that was that the Earth we live on is round, not flat. Many maps after Anaximander were adding on to the Greek mans work.

Read More

Alexander The Great Accomplishments

978 Words | 4 Pages

Archimedes stated that if this theory was true that the universe would be vastly larger than what they thought it was (he stated this because if the Earth had motion then it would have a parallax or annual shift). Aristarchus only survival work was the sizes and distances of the sun and the moon. He also had three premises, this were that the Earth’s diameter is twice the diameter of the moon; the sun and the moon are each two degrees in an angular diameter and that in a quarter moon the distance of the sun and the moon is of 87

Read More

American Indians Mathematics

1264 Words | 6 Pages

Abstract: Mathematics is a great subject that has developed greatly throughout the years. It has been present for a long time and throughout different societies. The American Indians are a group of people with an incredible culture full of amazing facts. Evidence of their work proofs their knowledge and understanding of different mathematical concepts that only makes us admire their culture even more. Such evidence allows us to explore how the American Indians counted and how they displayed mathematical understanding in their earthwork and art.

Read More

Renaissance Dbq Essay

554 Words | 3 Pages

During the Middle Ages a Roman Astronomer named Ptolemy came up with the theory that all surrounding planets orbited around the Earth. Advancement in telescopes and technology helped Copernicus during the renaissance create a more logical and accurate theory which stated how the sun is in the middle of our universe and all planets orbited the sun. This changed the way man thought because it realized how small Earth is compared to the rest of the solar system and how we may not be

Read More

Essay On Flat Earth Society

1077 Words | 5 Pages

That is, until the Greek philosopher Aristotle came up with the round Earth theory. " Again, our observations of the stars make it evident, not only that the Earth is circular, but also that it is a circle of no great size. For quite a small change of position to south or north causes a manifest alteration of the horizon" (Hogenboom, pg.1). Even with this information, most of the societies on the planet still believed that the Earth was flat for the next thousand years. Most of this was due to the fact that the church was still telling people about the flat Earth model that Socrates had come up with around the 6th century B.C.E.

Read More

Daily Life During The Renaissance

517 Words | 3 Pages

During the Renaissance daily life was very difficult for some people, if you were not part of the upper class. Daily life was was different throughout all of the social classes. Each social class was very different within each other. Some examples how they were different is,  the way they dressed and the kinds of jobs they could have. The clothing for each person in each social class differed greatly between the type of material and the style of the clothing.

Read More

Native American Mathematics

1794 Words | 8 Pages

Introduction The natives of America were a great people with a very advanced knowledge of mathematics. Archeological finds show that the American tribes had used some sort of a mathematical system, and developed a unique method of applying mathematics into all activities in their life. The first American Societies used and practiced mathematics for all purposes, for example they used of mathematics for religion, agriculture, war and commerce. They were able to calculate sacred days used in religious ceremonies; to calculate the seasons of the year for planting, and to develop accurate calendars. They created calendars that predicted the lunar and solar rotation.

Read More

Nicolaus Copernicus Research Paper

1141 Words | 5 Pages

Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek Geographer and Astronomer, came up with this theory. Everyone later on came to believe the geocentric theory. Controversy augmented when Nicolaus evolved the heliocentric theory, which was later included in Book I of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium. A lot of people told Nicolaus that his findings were incorrect and irrelevant because they strongly believed in Claudius 's previous statement. Book I also sketches of the solar system that helps defend the heliocentric theory.

Read More

More about How Has Math Been Used To Measure The Circumference Of The Earth?

Related Topics

Open Document