A few days ago
she_wants_a_fairytale_ending

Heyy Guys Bet You Can’t Answer This!?

So anywayz, thanks for clicking this question. [[ High Five ]] So basically I have a ridiculously hard math problem I have to solve. And I have my answer, but I’m not sure it’s right so if it’s right please tell me…if not prove me wrong and crush me like a bug.!!!

A string is wrapped around the Earth’s equator and the two ends of the string just touch. Now suppose that another string is tied to the original string so that it is 100 feet longer. If this new string is placed around the equator and pulled tight so that it is suspended in air, how high will the string be above the ground?

Answer choices:

a. Not even high enough to squeeze an atom underneath the string.

b. Just high enough to roll a bowling ball underneath the string.

c. Just high enough to drive a Mack truck underneath the string.

d. 100 feet high.

[[ I’m Thinking D. How About You Guys?? ]]

Top 8 Answers
A few days ago
Anonymous

Favorite Answer

wtf are you up to? trying to cheat on mr cox’s question…. shame on you.
0

A few days ago
shannon3lc
Ok, just eyeballing it–it is NOT D.

I’m going to guess the answer is… C.

Here’s the math to support it:

Alright, first we need to know some general information.

The circumference of the earth = 24,859.82 miles

Convert that to feet = about… 131259849.6 feet

and…some simple geometry equations…

C = 2piR

Ok, so what you are looking for is the difference in radius because that will tell you the space between the crust of the earth and the +100ft string.

So…

first you find the radius of the earth

131259849.6 = 2piR

R = 20890653.89 feet

Next, you find the NEW radius if you added 100 feet to the circumference so…

131259849.6 + 100 = 2piR

R = 20890669.81 feet

Finally, you can calculate the difference by subtraction.

20890669.81 – 20890653.89 =15.918 feet

So…unless I am making the wrong assumptions on the height of the truck…

1

A few days ago
Christine
I don’t think it’s 100 feet high. To test this out, cut 2 lengths of string, one 5″ and one 15″…make circles with them and see how much further apart they are…if the 15″ string IS 10″ away from the 5″ string, then it is 100 feet.

If it’s not, then you need to rethink

0

A few days ago
Fi B
A : 100 feet is very little when dealing with something the length of the equator/
1

A few days ago
It would be choice b. I homeschool my daughter and we just went over a similiar problem with the equator and adding length to find the height. I believe ours was lengthened by 1 foot and we came up with slighty under an inch.
0

A few days ago
monkeyman
i’m thinking A. out of the thousands of miles around the earth, another 100 feet would be nothing.
1

A few days ago
Anonymous
I’m thinking that you should do your own homework.

Maybe it’s just me.

0

A few days ago
stew
d
0