X and Y both lie on the equator and their longitude differ by 25°. Find the distance between X and Y along the equator, to the nearest unit

Answer 1

Since X and Y both lie on the equator, their latitude is 0°. We can use the formula:

distance = radius of Earth x angle (in radians) x cos(latitude)

where the radius of the Earth is approximately 6,371 km.

The angle between X and Y can be calculated as follows:

angle = (longitude of Y - longitude of X) x (pi/180)

= 25 x (pi/180)

= 0.4363 radians

cos(0°) is equal to 1, so we can simplify the formula to:

distance = radius of Earth x angle (in radians)

= 6,371 km x 0.4363

= 2,778 km (rounded to the nearest unit)

Therefore, the distance between point X and Y along the equator is approximately 2,778 km.