If you monitor Saturn's atmosphere and you see a storm at a longitude of 0° west on one day and at a longitude of 90° west 3 days later,what is the average wind speed on Saturn at this storm's latitude? Note that these positions are measured on a coordinate system that rotates with the planet's interior.(The radius of Saturn is 6 × 10⁷ m.)

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If the storm moves from 0°W to 90°W in 3 days on Saturn, it means the storm has traveled a distance of 1/4th of the planet's circumference (since Saturn rotates once in roughly 10 hours and the storm moves roughly 1/6th of the circumference per day). Therefore, the average wind speed between 0°W and 90°W at the latitude of the storm is the distance traveled divided by the time taken, which is:

(1/4)*2*pi*(6*10^7 m)/(3*24*60*60 s) = 360 m/s

Therefore, the average wind speed on Saturn at this storm's latitude is 360 m/s, which corresponds to choice C.

If You Monitor Saturn's Atmosphere and You See a Storm