A child learns in school that the earth is traveling faster than 100,000 kilometers per hour around the sun, and in a frightened tone asks why we arent swept off.
What statement about the motion of the Earth is, on average,true?
A. We are traveling slower than the Earth
B. We are traveling just as fast as the Earth
C. All are wrong
D. We are traveling faster than the Earth
My thought: would it be choices B or C?
What do you you think? Think about when you stand on a moving walkway in an airport ( it moves, right?).
The correct statement about the motion of the Earth, on average, is:
B. We are traveling just as fast as the Earth.
The reason we aren't swept off the Earth despite its high speed is due to inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion. As long as we are on the surface of the Earth, we are also moving at the same speed as the Earth, so we experience the same forces acting on us. This allows us to remain on the Earth's surface without being swept off. Therefore, option B is the most accurate statement.
To answer this question, we need to understand the concept of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion. In this case, the Earth is constantly in motion as it orbits around the sun.
Now, let's analyze the options:
A. We are traveling slower than the Earth: This statement is incorrect. If the Earth is traveling faster than 100,000 kilometers per hour, then we, being on Earth, are also traveling at the same speed.
B. We are traveling just as fast as the Earth: This statement is correct. Since we are on the Earth, we are moving with the Earth as it orbits the sun. Therefore, we are indeed traveling at the same speed as the Earth.
C. All are wrong: This statement is incorrect, as option B is correct.
D. We are traveling faster than the Earth: This statement is incorrect. If we were traveling faster than the Earth, it would mean that we are somehow surpassing the Earth's orbital speed, which is not the case.
Therefore, the correct answer is B. We are traveling just as fast as the Earth.