SOLUTION: Find the distance along an arc on the surface of the earth that subtends a central angle of 7 minutes (1 minute = 1/60 degree). The radius of the earth is 3960 miles. Round to the

Algebra ->  Trigonometry-basics -> SOLUTION: Find the distance along an arc on the surface of the earth that subtends a central angle of 7 minutes (1 minute = 1/60 degree). The radius of the earth is 3960 miles. Round to the       Log On


   

Question 1014567: Find the distance along an arc on the surface of the earth that subtends a central angle of 7 minutes (1 minute = 1/60 degree). The radius of the earth is 3960 miles. Round to the thousandths. (3 decimal places)
Answer in miles
Answer by Theo(13342) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
arc length = central angle degrees of the arc / 360 * 2 * pi * r

your central angle is 7 minutes which is equal to 7/60 degrees because 1 minute = 1/60 degrees, therefore 7 minutes = 7/60 degrees.

arc length is therefore (7/60) / 360 * 2 * pi * r

since r = 3960 miles, this equation becomes:

arc length = (7/60) / 360 * 2 * pi * 3960

simplify this to get arc length = 8.063421144 miles.