A satellite is 13,200 miles from the horizon of Earth. Earth's radius is about 4,000 miles. Find the approximate distance the satellite is from the Earth's surface.
+36916 Not EXACTLY sure I understand 'from the horizon of the Earth' , but I assume it is referring to a tangential line from the satellite to the earths surface. In this case we have a RIGHT triangle with hypoteneuse equal to the distance we are looking for....
Pythagorean theorem : 13200^2 + 4000^2 = d^2 d = 13792.75 miles
This 'd' is to the CENTER of the Earth....we must subtract the RADIUS to find the distance to the SURFACE
13792.75 - 4000 = 9792.75 Miles
