Inverse flattening is defined as the reciprocal of what quantity?

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Multiple Choice

Inverse flattening is defined as the reciprocal of what quantity?

Explanation:
Flattening measures how much an ellipsoid departs from a perfect sphere, defined as f = (a − b)/a, where a is the equatorial radius and b is the polar radius. The inverse flattening is simply the reciprocal of that value, written as 1/f (which is also a/(a − b)). This is why it’s common to specify inverse flattening in geodesy — it yields a convenient, larger number (for Earth about 298.257...), while still containing the same geometric information as the flattening. So the inverse flattening is defined as the reciprocal of flattening.

Flattening measures how much an ellipsoid departs from a perfect sphere, defined as f = (a − b)/a, where a is the equatorial radius and b is the polar radius. The inverse flattening is simply the reciprocal of that value, written as 1/f (which is also a/(a − b)). This is why it’s common to specify inverse flattening in geodesy — it yields a convenient, larger number (for Earth about 298.257...), while still containing the same geometric information as the flattening. So the inverse flattening is defined as the reciprocal of flattening.

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