Question

Tidal friction is slowing the rotation of the Earth. As a result, the orbit of the Moon is increasing in radius at a rate of approximately 4 cm/year. Assuming this to be a constant rate, how many years will pass before the radius of the Moon’s orbit increases by 3.84×10^6 m (1%)?

a) 96 million years
b) 98 million years
c) 96 billion years
d) 98 billion years

Answer 1

Tidal friction is causing the Moon's orbit to increase in radius. To find the number of years it will take for the radius to increase by 3.84 × 10^6 m, set up a proportion and solve the equation.

Step-by-step explanation:

Tidal friction is causing the orbit of the Moon to increase in radius at a rate of approximately 4 cm/year. To find out how many years it will take for the radius of the Moon's orbit to increase by 3.84 × 10^6 m (1%), we can set up a proportion.

We know that the increase in radius per year is 4 cm, so the increase in radius over a certain number of years will be 4 cm/year multiplied by the number of years.

Using this proportion, we can set up the equation: 4 cm/year = (3.84 × 10^6 m)/x, where x is the number of years. Solving this equation will give us the number of years it will take for the radius of the Moon's orbit to increase by 3.84 × 10^6 m.