Question

Now imagine yourself far above the North Pole and looking down on the Earth below. Think of the loose card (B) as being part of Earth's surface and that X represents the North Pole. From this perspective, Earth appears to rotate counterclockwise. You can observe the pencil point's motion relative to the Earth's surface (B). You see that as the pencil point moves along the cut-edge and away from the X, it draws a path on the rotating surface that ________.

a) Curves to the left
b) Curves to the right
c) Moves northward
d) Moves southward

Answer 1

When observing the Earth rotating counterclockwise above the North Pole, a pencil point moving along the cut-edge and away from the North Pole would draw a path on the rotating surface that curves to the right.

Step-by-step explanation:

When observing the Earth rotating counterclockwise above the North Pole, a pencil point moving along the cut-edge and away from the North Pole would draw a path on the rotating surface that curves to the right. This can be understood by using the example of a ball sliding straight toward the edge of a merry-go-round, which also follows a curved path to the right. Similarly, in the rotating frame of reference, the pencil point appears to curve to the right on the Earth's surface.