Question

Smalltown, latitude 53.6 degrees N, lies directly north of Bigville, latitude 38.6 degrees N. Give the distance between the two cities. (Hint: The earth's radius is about 3,960 miles.)

This is a question similar to what will be on my test tomorrow. I'd really appreciate the help on how to figure this out.

The answer is 330 Pi or 1,036.7 miles.

Answer 1

draw a 'great circle'
the two towns form a sector with an angle
of 15º (53.6-38.6 = 15)
15º = pi/12 radians

you want the arclength of that sector
arclength = radius x angle
= 3960(pi/12) = 330pi

Answer 2

ggyu