Knowing the distance from the Sun , the ratio of diameter / distance equal to 1/110 to measure its diameter. Another way of measuring the ratio 1/110 , besides the method of Figure , is to measure the diameter of the solar image projected by an opening made with a pin. A physics student conduct the experiment and after several careful measurements found that the distance h is 56 cm and the diameter of the image projected by the sun on the floor is 0.5 cm . Find the diameter of the sun . Express your measurement in scientific notation
Since the projected distance of the pinhole to the floor was 56cm, and the image was .5cm, then the ratio of the two is:
56/.5=112. But the average distance to the Sun is 149,600,000Km, then the diameter of the Sun is:
149,600,000/112=1.335 X 10^6Km, on this scale. The Sun's diameter is in fact: 1, 392,000Km. Close!.
