How long would it take for the Earth to complete a full turn if a person at 24.1° northern geographical latitude floats apparently weightlessly across the room? Use REarth = 6,375 km for the radius of Earth.
Thank you
To determine the time it would take for the Earth to complete a full turn while a person at a specific latitude floats weightlessly across a room, we need to consider the rotational period of the Earth and the distance covered.
1. Calculate the circumference of the Earth at the given latitude:
Circumference = 2 * π * Radius
Given that REarth = 6,375 km, the radius would be 6375 km.
Circumference = 2 * π * 6375 km = 40,075 km
2. Next, we need to calculate the distance covered by the person in floating across the room.
3. Assume the room is at the same latitude as the person, and let's assume the room is 10 meters across (0.01 km).
Distance covered = 0.01 km
4. Now, we can calculate the time it would take for the Earth to complete a full turn while the person covers this distance.
Time = Distance / Circumference
Time = 0.01 km / 40,075 km
Time ≈ 0.000249 seconds
Therefore, it would take approximately 0.000249 seconds for the Earth to complete a full turn while a person at 24.1° northern geographical latitude floats apparently weightlessly across a room.