In this earth lesson students complete a hands on activity to repeat eratosthenes experiment. Eratosthenes of cyrene 276 194 bc was a 3rd century bc greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer. The eratosthenes experiment march 2020 is organised with the collaboration of the hellenic mathematical society. Then an idea came to eratosthenes, he thought of using a. He recorded the details of this measurement in a manuscript that is now lost, but his technique has been described by other greek historians and writers. Eratosthenes was called beta the second letter of the greek alphabet because he was never first, but he is more famous than his alpha teachers because his discoveries are still used today. Jan 11, 2011 excerpt from the ibm film mathematics peepshow. He made several important contributions to mathematics and science, and was a good friend to archimedes. Eratosthenes made several important contributions to mathematics and science, and was a friend of archimedes. In show math, students will learn how in 200 bc, the greek mathematician eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth using simple geometry and a few measurements. Eratosthenes experiment 205 bc gave the first estimation of the earths radius simply by observing the shadow of a vertical stick at noon local solar. Eratosthenes, however, was a scientist, and his contemplation of these common things would change the world. Eratosthenes, a greek geographer about 276 to 194 b. In mathematics, the sieve of eratosthenes is an ancient algorithm for finding all prime numbers up to any given limit it does so by iteratively marking as composite i.
Jul 23, 2017 the eratosthenes experiment hoax july 23, 2017 july 26, 2017 by flateartheducation, posted in flat earth and science, introduction to flat earth this article contains mature language. Chief among these is the calculation of the circumference of the earth and the development of a mathematical sieve named after him. The ancient greek scientist eratosthenes devised the following experiment for estimating the circumference of the earth, which he assumed to be spherical in shape. The experiment is suitable as a high school or university project and. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. I have very little knowledge about eratosthenes but its not needed in this case. Eratosthenes was educated in philosophy and mathematics in athens. The legend follows that eratosthenes used a deep vertical well near syene, in southern egypt which was entirely lit up by the sun at.
Cyrene, then a greek city, is now the town of shahhat in libya. Eratosthenes was an ancient greek scientist born in the town of cyrene in about 276 bc. Remove all proper multiples of the next remaining number. Eratosthenes proposed a simple algorithm for finding prime numbers. Full text of the measure of eratosthenes carl sagan. So on the same day, different year, he noticed that in alexandria, some 800 kilometers km away, a vertical pole cast a shadow. Maps, lists, resources, and links pertaining to ancient greek mathematics. Introduce students to the activity by telling them about eratosthenes, his measurement, and the equinox.
He used that distance, what he knew about the suns angles, and a bit of geometry to figure out the size of the earth. Whether through dumb luck, or an inconsistency or his great intelligence, eratosthenes did an experiment and got a result. Eratosthenes was a famous greek philosopher, mathematician and geographer who is credited for the measurement of earths circumference. Thousands of times after that, under the most impressive. Then an idea came to eratosthenes, he thought of using a gnomon, a vertical verge.
This way you can also have an accurate outcome by conducting the experiment by. Eratosthenes of cyrene 276 bc194 bc was a third century bc greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer. And in this video, were going to see how he did this. Eratosthenes lesson plan for 7th 12th grade lesson planet.
Eratosthenes made the first accurate measurement of the size of the earth. Eratosthenes calculation of earths circumference windows. Eratosthenes calculation was a little out, but the accuracy of his figure for the circumference of the earth would not be equalled until modern times. As eratosthenes had the mood to experiment, to wonder if here, near alexandria, a stick makes a shadow on the noon of june 21. Eratosthenes, who lived in alexandria, heard of this from a traveler. By noting the angles of shadows in two cities on the summer solstice, and by performing the right calculations using his knowledge of geometry and the distance between the cities, eratosthenes was able to make a remarkably accurate calculation of the circumference of earth.
Eratosthenes used the local noon and no other time of the day since at local noon all relevant places and sunrays are placed on the same imaginary plane enabling the use of simple geometry for his calculations. Stellarium software a short guide for using thestellarium software to calculate your local. So the heart of eratostheness measurement is a simple geometry problem. He does this with a little bit of geometry, and the knowledge that, due to the curvature of the earth, if the sun is seen as directly overhead at one place at a particular time, the sun could not be directly overhead at a different place at the same time, as follows. The legend follows that eratosthenes used a deep vertical well near syene, in southern egypt which was entirely lit up by the sun at noon once a year as the basis of his calculations. He went on to calculate the circumference of the earth by the following simple reasoning. Carl sagan explains how the ancient greeks, using reason and. For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as.
This algorithm is known in mathematics as the sieve of eratosthenes in mathematics, the sieve of eratosthenes greek. Eratosthenes is famous for many things, including a mapping method that used latitudes and longitudes, and his accurate computation of the circumference of earth. This exercise involves using eratostheness algorithm in a list of prime numbers class, and then using an instance of that class to conduct an experiment concerning the number of. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that can be divided without remainder only by itself and by 1. He was also the director of the library of alexandria. His estimate of the circumference was remarkably accurateto within 2% of the real value. A partly complete sieve of eratosthenes on a 14column number grid. He was head of the library of alexandria from 240 bc until his death. The sieve of eratosthenes identifies all prime numbers up to a given number n as follows.
Steps to follow the experiment will take place on the 20th of march. Explain that the class will perform an experiment on a date close or on the equinox to measure the earths circumference based on eratosthenes model. In cyrene northern tropic, no shadow is cast whereas 800. Eratosthenes was a prominent greek mathematician, astronomer and geographer who lived between 276 bc and 194 bc. Eratosthenes studied in alexandria, and claimed to have also studied for some years in athens. Its faculty, students and alumni have consistently.
The accuracy and simplicity of this experiment are amazing. He knew that assouan lay due south of alexandria at a distance of 580 statute miles. Eratosthenes had someone measure the distance between alexandria and syene. Register now and participate to the eratosthenes experiment. My friend gene gordon, a high school physics teacher in upstate new york, got me excited about the simplicity of eratosthenes original experiment. Eratosthenes most famous accomplishment is his measurement of the circumference of earth. It forms the western terminus of the montes apenninus mountain range. In 236 bc he was appointed by ptolemy iii euergetes i as librarian of the alexandrian library, succeeding the second librarian, apollonius of rhodes, in that post. Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word geography and other geographical terms that are still in use today, and his efforts to calculate the circumference of the earth and the distance from the earth to the sun paved the way for our. Pdf using a video camera to measure the radius of the earth. Eratosthenes measurement of the circumference of the earth. A worldwide experiment based on eratosthenes original computation of the earths circumference. A free program called imagej was used to measure the time it took the.
He was also reputedly known for his haughty character. Eratosthenes crater is a relatively deep lunar impact crater that lies on the boundary between the mare imbrium and sinus aestuum mare regions. Modern scholars disagree about the length of the stadium used by eratosthenes. This eratosthenes lesson plan is suitable for 7th 12th grade. Eratosthenes was a friend of archimedes, who also lived and worked in alexandria. A wonderful project for students, which would necessarily involve team work with a different school and most likely a school in a different state or region of the country, would be to try to repeat eratosthenes experiment. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those. Thus, for your matchup if no other schools can be found on the same longitude you can consider the existence of a virtual school on the equator with experimental data 0 shade of a onemeter stick measured at a certain time. In 195 bc he became blind and a year later he starved himself to death. To estimate the earths circumference, eratosthenes calculated the length of a.
Archimedes was the greatest mathematician and inventor of the age, so perhaps the beta nickname was not unjust. Levels two to five involve colouring the cells of a large pascals triangle following a number rule to produce an. Eratosthenes biography childhood, life achievements. Eratosthenes proved the earth isnt flat astro navigation. Eratosthenes and the size of the earth eratosthenes method for determining the size of the earth was an elegant application of simple geometry to an otherwise very difficult problem. Eratosthenes, over 2,000 years ago has estimated earths. The multiples of a given prime are generated as a sequence of numbers starting from that prime, with constant difference between them that is. Interactive animation of the sieve of eratosthenes to obtain prime numbers, using javascript. Modern replication of eratosthenes measurement of the circumference of earth. Eratosthenes was fascinated with geography and planned to make a map of the entire world. Jan 14, 2009 eratosthenes alexandrian mathematician.
This month in physics history aps physics aps home. Eratosthenes found a way, using none of the modern tools that we have, to measure the circumference of the earth. Not much, but enough to put this note at the beginning. The distance between alexandria and syene was measured in stadia. To estimate the earths circumference, eratosthenes calculated the length of a meridian arc by measuring the shadow cast by a vertical axis at noon on the summer solstice. Eratosthenes experiment 205 bc gave the first estimation of the earths radius simply by observing the shadow of a vertical stick at noon local solar time. Eratosthenes, greek scientific writer, astronomer, and poet, who made the first measurement of the size of earth for which any details are known. In syene northern tropic, no shadow is cast whereas 800 kilometres further north, in alexandria, the shadow is cast at an angle of 7.
It is named after ancient greek astronomer eratosthenes of cyrene, who estimated the circumference of the earth, and the distance from the earth to the sun. The works eratosthenes wrote are known to us only indirectly. The projects in this section use a technique known as algorithm animation to help vi. In the cosmos clip above, sagan explains eratosthenes scientific method. By using the difference in the elevation of the noontime sun at two different locations, he was able to measure the angular difference. We arent quite sure what answer eratosthenes came up with, though. Sieve of eratosthenes allows us to generate a list of primes. The eratosthenes experiment hoax flat earth education. Eratosthenes created a whole section devoted to the examination of homer, and acquired original works of great tragic dramas of aeschylus, sophocles and euripides. More than 2000 years ago, the greek mathematician eratosthenes described a simple algorithm for finding prime numbers. An alternative method using the interactive mapmaker can be found here. We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads.
Eratosthenes definition, greek mathematician and astronomer at alexandria. Jan 14, 2020 eratosthenes was called beta the second letter of the greek alphabet because he was never first, but he is more famous than his alpha teachers because his discoveries are still used today. Apr 11, 20 for the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration. Eratosthenes then used this to calculate the circumference of the earth to be about 250,000 stadia. Read on to know more about his childhood, career, profile and timeline. It makes no difference at all whether eratosthenes got his experiment right or not, or whether he could have done a better job, or whether he was an alcoholic or not. The eratosthenes experiment is organized under the support of the international astronomical union iau and the european project spaceeu. The program enjoys a longstanding international reputation for excellence in innovative animation production.
Eratosthenes sieve javascript required click on any number and all its proper multiples will be removed from the table. Natural numbers n that can be divided by a number less than n and greater than 1 are composite numbers. The eratosthenes experiment hoax july 23, 2017 july 26, 2017 by flateartheducation, posted in flat earth and science, introduction to flat earth this article contains mature language. Eratosthenes simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Eratosthenes measurement of the earths circumference. Amazing experiment shows spherical version of tesseract duration. In order to repeat eratosthenes experiment youll have to do the same. So consider the circle shown here, which has points a and b. March 2018 on february 23, 2018 in announcements, news this year the experiment will take place on wednesday the 21st of march, one day after the spring equinox day tuesday, 20 march 2018, 16.
Full text of the measure of eratosthenes carl sagan see other formats chapter 15 process analysis 517 the measure of eratosthenes j carl sagan a professor of astronomy at cornell university, carl sagan has worked on a num ber of nasa projects and has completed extensive research on the possibility of life on other planets. He was born in what is now libya, to parents who were probably chaldean. There is essentially a research paper written by someone called eratosthenes where he gives an outline of his experiment, the results he recorded made up or otherwise and what that meant. Values between 500 and about 600 feet have been suggested, putting eratosthenes calculated circumference between about 24,000 miles and about 29,000 miles.
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