C++ Exercises: Compute the distance between two points on the surface of earth

Last update on August 11 2025 12:58:10 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

Earth Surface Distance

Write a C++ program to compute the distance between two points on the surface of the earth.

Visual Presentation:

C++ Exercises: Compute the distance between two points on the surface of earth

Sample Solution:

C++ Code :

#include <iostream> // Including input-output stream header file
#include <math.h>   // Including math functions header file

using namespace std; // Using the standard namespace

int main() { // Start of the main function

    double d, la1, la2, lo1, lo2, er, r; // Declaration of variables to store coordinates, distance, and radius

    cout << "\n\n Print the distance between two points on the surface of earth:\n"; // Displaying the purpose of the program
	cout << "-----------------------------------------------------------------------\n";
	
	cout << " Input the latitude of coordinate 1: "; // Prompting user to input latitude of coordinate 1
	cin >> la1; // Taking input from user and storing it in variable 'la1'
	
	cout << " Input the longitude of coordinate 1: "; // Prompting user to input longitude of coordinate 1
	cin >> lo1; // Taking input from user and storing it in variable 'lo1'
	
	cout << " Input the latitude of coordinate 2: "; // Prompting user to input latitude of coordinate 2
	cin >> la2; // Taking input from user and storing it in variable 'la2'
	
	cout << " Input the longitude of coordinate 2: "; // Prompting user to input longitude of coordinate 2
	cin >> lo2; // Taking input from user and storing it in variable 'lo2'	
	
	r = 0.01745327; // Conversion factor Pi/180
	
	// Converting latitude and longitude values from degrees to radians
	la1 = la1 * r; 
	la2 = la2 * r;
	lo1 = lo1 * r;
	lo2 = lo2 * r;
	
	er = 6371.01; // Earth's radius in kilometers
	
	// Calculating the distance between two points on the Earth's surface using Haversine formula
	d = er * acos((sin(la1) * sin(la2)) + (cos(la1) * cos(la2) * cos(lo1 - lo2)));
	
	cout << " The distance between those points is: " << d << "\n"; // Displaying the calculated distance
	
	return 0; // Returning 0 to indicate successful program execution
}

Sample Output:

 Print the the distance between two points on the surface of earth:    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Input the latitude of coordinate 1: 25                                
 Input the longitude of coordinate 1: 35                               
 Input the latitude of coordinate 2: 35.5                              
 Input the longitude of coordinate 2: 25.5                             
 The distance between those points is: 1480.08

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a C++ program to calculate the great-circle distance between two points on Earth using the haversine formula.
Write a C++ program that computes the distance between two geographic coordinates and then outputs the result in kilometers and miles.
Write a C++ program to determine the distance between two points on Earth and check if they are within a specified travel range.
Write a C++ program that reads latitude and longitude values, computes the surface distance using spherical geometry, and handles edge cases at the poles.

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