Question

The angle subtended by the moon at a point on the earth is 0°31'. If the distance of moon from the earth surface is 3.84×10 to the power of 5 km.Find the diameter of moon.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

For objects that subtend a relatively small angle we can use the following approximation:

s=rθ

Where is the actual diameter of the object in question, r is the distance to the object, and θ is the angle subtended by the object in the sky in radians we must convert degrees to radians:

0.5ºx(π/180º)=0.00873rad

s=(384000000)(0.00873)=3.35×10

6

m

A diameter of the moon is 3.35×10

6

m