ANSWERS: 1
  • The Earth completes one rotation every 24 hours. This means that the Earth's angular velocity (ω), measured in radians per second (rad/s), is constant at any latitude. First, let's compute the number of seconds in a day: 24 hours = 24 x 60 mins = 24 x 60 x 60 seconds = 86400 seconds The angular speed (ω) is 2π radians divided by the time it takes to go all the way around: ω = 2π rad/86400 s = 7.27 x 10^-5 rad/s Because the Earth is a sphere, the distance around the globe at a given latitude depends on the latitude. If one is at the equator, the distance is 40,075.16 kilometers. If one is one kilometer from one of the poles, the distance around the Earth is 6.28 kilometers. Because both points on the Earth must complete one rotation per 24 hours (7.27 x 10^-5 rad/s), this translates to a much higher tangential speed at the equator than near the pole. If you pick point at any latitude that point must go around a much greater distance in 24 hours, if the latitute is near the equator.

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