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Student's name Professor's name Course Date Answers to the questions Eratosthenes used the sun’s rays which shone directly into a well but could not cast at all in Syene Egypt and he concluded that the sun was directly overhead. He also investigated the same idea in Alexandria, 7° 12' from perpendicular to Syene- on the same meridian- and he found out that a shadow was cast in a well. He measured the distance between the two stadia and the height of the shadow at Alexandria and used the measurements to calculate the circumference of the earth. Ptolemy, on the other hand, revised the Eratosthenes’ calculation of earth’s circumference but estimated the earth’s circumference to be 28,985 kilometers (18,000 miles) which is an error of about 28% from that of Eratosthenes. Ptolemy’s circumference was therefore used throughout the Renaissance. Eratosthenes circumference was more accurate than that of Ptolemy. Christopher Columbus used Ptolemy’s estimation to travel to the Far East by his voyage but he ended up in a continent hiding 28% error from his target. It means Eratosthenes calculations and estimation of the earth’s circumference was more accurate. Finding the Northwest Passage by the Kingdoms of the Western Europe was essential because it provided a way establishing relationships with countries like China and America to trade with and make lots of wealth out of it. Christopher Columbus established such routes and founded the continent of America in 1492 through the coastal regions of Africa among other adventurers like Martin Frobisher and John Cabot. Benjamin Franklin charted the Gulf map to help the continents explorers understand how
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