Question

When the pencil motion was measured relative to the rotating card (B), its path was ________. This apparent deflection of motion from a straight line in a rotating system is called the Coriolis Effect for Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis (1792-1843), who first explained it mathematically. Because Earth is a rotating system, objects moving freely across its surface exhibit curved paths, except at the equator. This includes air parcels moving horizontally.

a) Straight
b) Curved
c) Zigzag
d) Spiral

Answer 1

The pencil motion measured relative to the rotating card (B) exhibited a curved path. This curvature is due to the Coriolis Effect, which causes objects to appear to take curved paths in rotating frames of reference, such as Earth's surface.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the pencil motion was measured relative to the rotating card (B), its path was curved. This apparent deflection of motion from a straight line in a rotating system is called the Coriolis Effect, named after Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis who first explained it mathematically. The Coriolis Effect is observed because the Earth is a rotating system and, as a result, objects moving freely across its surface appear to follow curved paths, with this effect being nonexistent only at the equator. This phenomenon includes the paths of air parcels moving horizontally, which appear curved due to the Coriolis force, a fictitious force that acts in rotating frames of reference like Earth's surface, allowing us to apply Newton's Laws in non-inertial frames of reference.