Question

Abhinav performed the Eratosthene's experiment by buiding up his own setup and measured the length of the shadows formed by two sticks on two different spheres A and B (keeping all the conditions constant and same for both the spheres). He observed that the difference between the length of shadows formed on sphere A was more than that of B. Which of the following might be true?

• A. Sphere A is smaller than Sphere B.
• B. Both the spheres are of equal sizes.
• C. Sphere A is larger than Sphere B.
• D. Nothing can be determined at all.

Answer 1

The correct option is C Sphere A is larger than Sphere B.

Eratosthenes was a Greek scientist, astronomer and poet. He determined the circumference and the spherical shape of the Earth through an experiment. In this experiment, he placed sticks at Alexandria and Syene in Africa and studied the length of their shadows. As per his observations, the difference in the length of shadows was only possible if the Earth had a curvature. It was also concluded that greater the difference between the length of the shadows, more was the curvature of the Earth. By the same logic, Abhinav's experiment implies that sphere A is relatively larger than sphere B as it leaves behind a larger shadow.