Question

You decide to visit Santa Claus at the North Pole to put in a good word about your splendid behavior throughout the year. While there, you notice that the elf Sneezy, when hanging from a rope, produces a tension of 465 N in the rope. If Sneezy hangs from a similar rope while delivering presents at the Earth's equator, what will the tension in it be?

a. 465 N
b. 0 N
c. 930 N
d. Insufficient information to determine

Answer 1

The tension in the rope would likely remain 465 N when the elf Sneezy hangs from it at the Earth's equator, assuming no significant change in gravitational force or lack of sufficient data.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question is asking about the tension in a rope when an elf named Sneezy hangs from it, first at the North Pole and then at the Earth's equator. Given that the tension is 465 N at the North Pole, we might infer that the tension would be less at the Earth's equator due to the centrifugal effect of Earth's rotation, which reduces the effective weight. However, this effect is relatively small in comparison to the total weight. Without specific details about the mass of the elf and how the gravitational acceleration changes from the North Pole to the equator, the best answer with the information provided is that the tension in the rope would remain the same, hence 465 N. Factors such as Earth's slightly oblate shape and the variation in gravitational strength are generally insufficient to significantly alter tension in such a scenario. Without more data or a significant change in gravitational force, it is reasonable to conclude the rope tension would not differ appreciably.