Ivan Shishkin, Rye (1878)

Problems/GeometryUnreviewed

Partial solar eclipse

by Ancient Tree·
9
Difficulty scaleÉchelle de difficulté

This score reflects both the level of the required concepts and the difficulty of the solution.Ce score tient compte à la fois du niveau des notions nécessaires et de la difficulté de la résolution.

  1. 110First steps / middle schoolPremiers pas / collège
  2. 1125Beginner / high schoolDébutant / lycée
  3. 2650Intermediate / undergraduateIntermédiaire / licence
  4. 5170Advanced / graduateAvancé / master
  5. 7190Expert / specializedExpert / spécialisé
  6. 91100Research levelNiveau recherche
These levels are approximate guides.Ces niveaux sont des repères approximatifs.
·
English
EnglishFrançais
Unreviewed. This problem has not been reviewed by trusted users yet.

The Moon passes in front of the Sun. As seen from Earth, the apparent diameter of the Moon is exactly equal to the apparent radius of the Sun.

image

What proportion of the Sun is blocked?

I solved itMark it doneAdd to my listKeep it in your list

Solutions

1
Reveal solutionsAre you sure? Give it a try first.

Solution by Ancient Tree

Discussions1 useful vote

Denoting the radius of the Sun as RR, and the radius of the Moon as rr, we have that R=2rR=2r.
Therefore, the area of the Moon is πr2\pi r^{2}, while the area of the Sun is πR2=π(2r)2=π×4r2=4πr2\pi R^{2}=\pi (2r)^{2}=\pi\times 4r^{2}=4\pi r^{2}.

That is, the area of the Sun is 4 times bigger !
So one quarter of the Sun is blocked at this moment of the eclipse.

Report

For an unclear, ambiguous, or possibly incorrect statement, please use the Discussion tab on the right. Report content that needs moderator intervention, such as dangerous, clearly non-mathematical, or plagiarized content.