A space shuttle is 50 miles above Earth. An astronaut on the shuttle sees the sun rise over Earth. To the nearest
mile, what is the distance from the astronaut to the horizon? (Hint: Earth’s radius is about 4,000 miles.)

Question

A space shuttle is 50 miles above Earth. An astronaut on the shuttle sees the sun rise over Earth. To the nearest
mile, what is the distance from the astronaut to the horizon? (Hint: Earth’s radius is about 4,000 miles.)

vera_ewing · Answer

@jdoe0001

anonymous · Answer

|dw:1405031434037:dw|

vera_ewing · Answer

then what?

jdoe0001 · Answer

then just use the pythagorean theorem to find "x"

notice that a tangent and a diametric line when then touch at the point of tangency, are perpendicular |dw:1405032303029:dw|

vera_ewing · Answer

i got 5692 but that's way off from my answer choices!

vera_ewing · Answer

@jdoe0001 pls help

vera_ewing · Answer

a. 402,500 mi
b. 634 mi
c. 397,500 mi
d. 630 mi

jdoe0001 · Answer

$\bf c^2=a^2+{\color{blue}{ b}}^2\implies \sqrt{c^2-a^2}={\color{blue}{ b}}$|dw:1405032441124:dw|