The Density and Mass of Our Planet

by Zahra Simpson

Submitted : Spring 2015

The Earth does not have a uniform density. It is most dense at its core and decreases in density as the surface is approached. Using physics and calculus, this project not only discovers the densities of the Earth at its center and at its surface using a linear approximation, but also discovers the mass of the Earth by using its density. These findings can be applied to an engineering construct, mainly the discipline of petroleum engineering, where the mass and density of the Earth are important variables to consider when it comes to oil drilling and extraction.

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