Just like your problem, this one failed to state its assumptions. Maybe it's just me, but I could not be less interested in problems that fail to state their assumptions. We can debate what the assumptions should be till kingdom come, but each set of assumptions generally defines a different problem. Megayawn. --Dan Jim Propp wrote:
I got this problem from a new book called "Paradoxes and Sophisms in Calculus", by Sergiy Klymchuk and Susan Staples. On page 14, the authors ask: "A yacht returns from a trip around the world. Different parts of the yacht have covered different distances. Which part of the yacht has covered the longest distance?" On page 59, they give the following answer: "The top of the yacht has covered the longest distance. The shape of the Earth is approximately spherical, so the top of the yacht has the longest radius compared to lower parts and therefore has the longest circumference." I found this unconvincing. Specifically, I think that this "altitude effect" is dwarfed by other effects, like the ones you guys have mentioned.