Which statement about a nautical mile is true?

Which statement about a nautical mile is true?

• A. It is equal to 6,080 feet and equals 1 minute of latitude.
• B. It is equal to 5,280 feet.
• C. It is a measure used only for airspeed.
• D. It is equal to 3,000 feet.

Answer: (A)

A nautical mile is a distance unit tied to the Earth’s geometry. It is defined as the distance corresponding to one minute of latitude along any meridian, which makes it a consistent measure for navigation. In metric terms it’s exactly 1,852 meters, which is about 6,076 feet; many aviation references round that to roughly 6,080 feet for quick calculations. Because of this definition, one nautical mile also equals one minute of latitude, a handy fact that anchors navigation across oceans and skies. That’s why the statement matching both features is the correct one: it identifies the length in feet and its link to one minute of latitude. The other options don’t fit because 5,280 feet is a statute mile, not nautical; the idea that this unit is used only for airspeed is incorrect since it’s a distance measure (air speed uses knots, which are nautical miles per hour); and 3,000 feet is simply not equal to a nautical mile.

A nautical mile is a distance unit tied to the Earth’s geometry. It is defined as the distance corresponding to one minute of latitude along any meridian, which makes it a consistent measure for navigation. In metric terms it’s exactly 1,852 meters, which is about 6,076 feet; many aviation references round that to roughly 6,080 feet for quick calculations. Because of this definition, one nautical mile also equals one minute of latitude, a handy fact that anchors navigation across oceans and skies.

That’s why the statement matching both features is the correct one: it identifies the length in feet and its link to one minute of latitude. The other options don’t fit because 5,280 feet is a statute mile, not nautical; the idea that this unit is used only for airspeed is incorrect since it’s a distance measure (air speed uses knots, which are nautical miles per hour); and 3,000 feet is simply not equal to a nautical mile.