Answer :
Final answer:
The distance between two cities located at 10 degrees North and 62 degrees South on the same longitude is 7992 kilometers, calculated using an approximate value of 111 kilometers per degree of latitude.
Explanation:
The question asks to find the distance in kilometers between two cities that lie on the same longitude but at different latitudes, specifically 10 degrees North and 62 degrees South. To calculate this distance, we consider that one degree of latitude is approximately 111 kilometers (km). The total distance covered in latitude from 10 degrees North to 62 degrees South is 72 degrees (10 + 62) since we need to add the absolute values of the two latitudes to find the distance between them.
Using the approximate value for one degree of latitude, the distance can be calculated as follows:
Total degrees of latitude between the two points: 72 degrees
Distance per degree of latitude: 111 km
Total distance = 72 degrees * 111 km/degree = 7992 km
Therefore, the distance between the two cities, lying on the same longitude but differing in latitude by 72 degrees, is 7992 kilometers.
Answer:
8006 km
Step-by-step explanation:
The radius of the Earth can be used to find the circumference. The difference in latitude compared to the full circle of 360° will give the fraction of that circumference that is the distance of interest.
Circumference
Reportedly, the radius of the Earth is about 6371 km. Then the circumference is ...
C = 2πr
C = 2π(6371 km) ≈ 40,030.2 km
Distance
The angle between the two cities as measured at the center of the Earth is given by the difference in latitude. We can consider North Latitude to be positive, and South Latitude to be negative. Then the difference is ...
(10° -(-62°)) = 72°
As a fraction of the full central angle, that is ...
72°/360° = 1/5
This fraction of the entire circumference is ...
(1/5)(40,030.2 km) ≈ 8,006 km
The distance between the two cities is about 8,006 km.
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Additional comment
The shape of the Earth is called an "oblate spheroid." It has a bulge south of the equator, so is not a perfect sphere. Reportedly the longitudinal circumference is about 40,075 km, a little farther than we computed. One-fifth of that distance is 8015 km.
