Earth's radius is 6.38 × 10⁶ m, and it completes one revolution every day. What is the tangential speed of a person standing on the equator? A) 232 m/s B) 148 m/s C) 464 m/s D) 21.5 m/s E) 73.8 m/s

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the tangential speed of a person standing on the equator, we need to use the formula:

v = 2πr/T

Where v is the tangential speed, r is the radius of the Earth, and T is the time it takes for the Earth to complete one revolution (which is one day or 24 hours).

Plugging in the values, we get:

v = 2π(6.38 × 10^6 m)/(24 hours × 60 min/hour × 60 s/min)

v = 463.83 m/s

Rounding this to the nearest whole number gives us an answer of 464 m/s, which is choice C.

Earth's Radius Is 6