Fis Malsori

March 16, 2016

Analytical Decision Making vs. Intuition

Assume that the earth is perfectly round and smooth, and that a string has been place completely around
the equator. Suppose that someone cuts the string, adds 10 feet, and distributes the 10 feet such that the
string is equal distance from the earth. Can a mouse crawl under the string?

The planets circumference would be the distance of traveling around the earth on the equator.
Therefore the earths circumference is
Circumferenceearth =2 r

Equatorial

Given the information from publicly available data on the

web, our planets equatorial circumference is around
24,901.461 miles long.
24,901.461 miles=131,479,714.08 feet

To find out if adding 10 feet to the circumference will

create enough space to fit a mouse between the string and
surface of the planet, we will have to find the difference in
radius r of the sphere from before the addition to after the addition.
131,479,714.08 feet=2 r
r=

131,479,714.08 feet
6.2832

r before addition=20925597.479 feet

Now, lets find the radius length after the 10 feet addition to the circumference string.
131,479,714.08 feet +10 feet =2 r

r=

131,479,72 4.08 feet

6.2832

r after addition=20925599.0705 feet

the
the

Fis Malsori

March 16, 2016

The difference in the radius is

r =r after additionr before addition
20925599.070520925597.479
1.5915 feet

Therefore, a mouse will surely fit in the space of 1.59 feet created between the surface of the planet and
the string.