document.write( "Question 356839: When a plane flies directly from New York to London and then to Nairobi and
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document.write( "back to New York, it flies along the sides of a spherical triangle, as shown in Figure 11-28(a), approximately
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document.write( "following the surface of Earth. On a sphere, the shortest path between two points is along an arc of a
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document.write( "great circle. A great circle is obtained when a plane through the center of the sphere intersects the
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document.write( "sphere. (An example of a great circle is the equator.) To obtain a great circle through two given points on
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document.write( "the sphere, we need consider only a plane through the two points and the center of the sphere. A great
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document.write( "circle through points A and B is shown in Figure 11-28(b). A spherical triangle consists of three points on
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document.write( "the sphere and arcs of great circles (the shortest path) connecting the points.\r
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document.write( "a. How many great circles go through the North Pole and the South Pole on the globe?
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document.write( "b. Describe a spherical triangle that has one vertex at the North Pole and the other two vertices on the
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document.write( "equator.
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document.write( "c. Is there a spherical triangle with three right angles? If so, find one. \n" );
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Algebra.Com's Answer #254792 by Alan3354(69443)![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! a. How many great circles go through the North Pole and the South Pole on the globe? \n" ); document.write( "An infinite number. Any plane that contains the line between the 2 poles intersects the sphere in a great circle. \n" ); document.write( "----------------------------------- \n" ); document.write( "b. Describe a spherical triangle that has one vertex at the North Pole and the other two vertices on the equator. \n" ); document.write( "The 2 angles on the equator are right angles. The third can be from >zero to <180 degrees \n" ); document.write( "c. Is there a spherical triangle with three right angles? If so, find one. \n" ); document.write( "As in b above, if the angle at the pole is also 90 degs. \n" ); document.write( "For example, the pole, and longitude 0 degs and 90 degs on the equator. \n" ); document.write( " \n" ); document.write( " |