Question

A climber is standing at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, approximately 3.7 mi above sea level. The radius of the Earth is 3959 mi. What is the climber's distance to the horizon?

Answer 1

Let us get the given numbers:

Observation height: 3.7 miles above sea level

We will convert it to meters: 3.7 miles is equivalent to 5954.57 meters

5,954.57 meters x 13 meters = 77,409.41 meters

Take the square root of 77,409.41 = 278.23 kilometers.

If you want your answer to be in miles, convert the observation of height to feet and follow the same formula.