|Plants & Human Affairs (BIOL106) - Stephen G. Saupe, Ph.D.;
Biology Department, College of St. Benedict/St. John's
University, Collegeville, MN 56321; email@example.com;
http://www.employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe| Columbus Day – Some
Scientific Considerations Explain why Columbus, an Italian moved
to Portugal, but ultimately sailed under a Spanish flag. A
popular misconception is that the first voyage of Columbus
proved that the Earth was round. In fact, there are two major
flaws with this misconception. (a) Explain why the voyage of
Columbus DIDN’T prove the Earth was round. (b) Provide at least
four lines of evidence that Columbus knew before the voyage that
suggested the Earth was round. Eratosthenes demonstrated the
circumference of the Earth is 250,000 stadia (=25,000 miles; ca.
10 stadia/mile). Explain how he derived this value. Columbus
estimated the length of his journey to be from 21-28 days,
depending on winds. Explain how he derived Explain why Columbus
departed from the Canaries, but on his return we