Question

The earth rotates through one complete revolution every 1,440 minutes. Since the axis of rotation is perpendicular to the equator, you can think of a person standing on the equator as standing on the edge of a disc that is rotating through one complete revolution every 1440 minutes. Find the angular velocity of a person standing on the equator.

Answer 1

The angular velocity of a person standing on the equator is approximately
`7.272* 10^(-5)` radians per second.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Earth rotates at constant speed. From Rotational Physics, the angular velocity (
`\omega`), measured in radians per second, is defined by the following formula:

`\omega = (2\pi)/(T)` (1)

Where
`T` is the period of rotation of the Earth, measured in seconds.

If we know that
`T = 86400\,s`, then the angular velocity of a person standing on the equator is:

`\omega = (2\pi)/(86400\,s)`

`\omega \approx 7.272* 10^(-5)\,(rad)/(s)`

The angular velocity of a person standing on the equator is approximately
`7.272* 10^(-5)` radians per second.