Calculating Earth's Distance from the Sun in One Year

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the distance the Earth travels in one year, assuming a circular orbit with a radius of 92,500,000 miles centered on the Sun. Participants are clarifying the relationship between the radius and the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Some participants are questioning the relevance of the Earth's radius to the problem, while others clarify that the given radius represents the distance from the Earth to the Sun. There is a discussion about using the formula for circumference to find the distance traveled in a year.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different interpretations of the problem and clarifying the definitions involved. Some guidance has been offered regarding the use of the circumference formula, but no consensus has been reached.

Contextual Notes

There is some confusion regarding the terminology used in the problem statement, particularly about the radius and its implications for the distance from the Earth to the Sun.

Miike012
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Homework Statement


Assuming that the Earth describes in one year a circle, of 92500000 mile radius, whose center is the sun, how many miles does the Earth travel in a year?




The Attempt at a Solution



How does knowing the radius of the Earth help me with this problem? I don't need the radius of the Earth I need to know the distance from the Earth to the sun which will be the radius... then I can solve it...
Is this correct?
 
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Miike012 said:

Homework Statement


Assuming that the Earth describes in one year a circle, of 92500000 mile radius, whose center is the sun, how many miles does the Earth travel in a year?

If I'm reading this correctly, for the sake of this problem, 92500000 miles is the distance between the sun and the earth. The Earth travels around the sun in a circular orbit, so 92500000 miles is the radius. How do you think we obtain the number of miles the Earth travels around the sun in a year?
 
Miike012 said:

The Attempt at a Solution



How does knowing the radius of the Earth help me with this problem? I don't need the radius of the Earth I need to know the distance from the Earth to the sun which will be the radius... then I can solve it...
Is this correct?

That radius is not the radius of the Earth. The orbit is circular, so that radius is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. So you just need to find the distance using the radius.
 
So based on the description, same formula as for a circle. You know the formula for circumference? Just note that the orbit of the Earth to the Sun might in fact be more like an ellipse.
 
The wording just through me off... I was thinking that the distance 92500000 was the dis. from Earth to sun, even though I read it as the radius of the earth..
 

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