What is the circular distance around the Earth at the equator given its radius?

To calculate the circular distance around the Earth at the equator, we use the formula for the circumference of a circle, which is given by:

C = 2πr

Where:

• C is the circumference.
• r is the radius of the circle (in this case, the radius of the Earth at the equator).

Given that the radius of the Earth at its equator is 6.38 x 10⁶ m, we can plug this value into the formula:

C = 2π(6.38 x 10⁶)

Now, calculating the value:

• First, calculate 2π ≈ 6.2832.
• Then multiply 6.2832 by 6.38 x 10⁶.

C ≈ 6.2832 × 6.38 × 10⁶ m ≈ 4.007 × 10⁷ m.

To correct to two decimal places in scientific notation, we express it as:

C ≈ 4.01 x 10⁷ m.

Therefore, the circular distance around the Earth at the equator is approximately 4.01 x 10⁷ meters.