Question

Who was the first person to accurately calculate the circumference of Earth?

• A. Eratosthenes
• B. Aristotle
• C. Ptolemy
• D. Archimedes

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Eratosthenes

Size

• The circumference of Earth is about 40,075 km.

• Eratosthenes made the first attempt to find out the size of the Earth. Solely based on the angle of incidence of the Sun's rays, he calculated the circumference of the Earth to be 2,50,000 stadia, which is surprisingly close to its real circumference.