On Friday, 21/03/25, in the yard of Evangeliki Model High School Smyrna, at solar noon, the activity of measuring the Earth’s radius using the method of Eratosthenes took place. This activity is organized every year on the same date during the spring equinox, March 20-21, under the auspices of PANEKFE (Panhellenic Union of Laboratory Center Coordinators for Physical Sciences).
It involves measuring the Earth’s radius using the method of Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who, in the 2nd century AD, calculated the Earth’s circumference with very simple tools and, from there, its radius. For more information about the activity, visit the link: The Experiment of Eratosthenes.
From our school, 16 students from the 1st and 2nd grades of High School participated, equipped with a broomstick, a measuring tape, and a level. The calculation of the distance from the Evangeliki School yard to the Equator was made using the software Distance Calculator.
The best measurement was made by the students of B2class, Kyriakakis Panagiotis, Boulamatsis Konstantinos, and Nonota Sofia. The result is attached here, and it is 6,113.3 km, with a relative error from the actual value (6,371 km) of only 4.04%!
We thank all the students for their participation and enthusiasm!!
The Physics Teachers:
Vamvakas Ioannis, Katsinis Georgios, Toulatou Margarita
