High School

Find the distance between the two cities, assuming the Earth is a sphere with a radius of 4000 miles and the cities are on the same meridian. (Cities: Orlando, FL)

a) 1400 miles
b) 2000 miles
c) 2500 miles
d) 3000 miles

Answer :

Final answer:

The distance between two cities on the same meridian can be found using the formula: Distance = radius of the Earth x angular separation in radians. The distance between Orlando, FL and the other city is approximately c) 2500 miles.

Explanation:

The distance between two cities on the same meridian can be found using the formula:

Distance = radius of the Earth x angular separation in radians

Since the cities are on the same meridian, the angular separation is equal to the difference in latitude between the two cities. Orlando, FL has a latitude of approximately 28.5383 degrees, and we assume the cities have the same latitude for simplicity. Using the formula, the distance is:

Distance = 4000 miles x (28.5383 degrees x (pi/180))

Calculating this gives a distance of approximately 2500 miles.