Question

The largest state in the US is Alaska, covering 663,267 square miles (including water). What is the approximate radius of a sphere with the same surface area as the area of Alaska?

Answer 1

Remember that the formula for the surface area of a sphere is $SA=4 \pi r ^{2}$ . Substitute the given surface area to solve: $663,267=4 \pi r ^{2}$. Divide by 4 on both sides: $165,816.75= \pi r ^{2}$. Divide by pi on both sides: $52781.11= r ^{2}$. Square root on both sides to find the radius: $229.741= r$