193k views
1 vote
andrea, of mas thinks she's sitting at rest in the middle of helong dorm room as she does her physics homework. within what range is her velocity likely to be?

User Extols
by
8.0k points

1 Answer

2 votes

Final answer:

Andrea's velocity relative to her dorm room is 0 m/s. However, considering Earth's rotation and revolution, her velocity is non-zero and changes depending on the frame of reference being used, such as the Earth's motion relative to the Sun or the galaxy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you're asking about Andrea sitting at rest in her dorm room and within what range her velocity is likely to be can be analyzed in the context of Physics, more specifically, classical mechanics and relative motion. Although to Andrea it may seem that she's at rest, from various frames of reference, her velocity might differ. For example, relative to her dorm room, her velocity is zero. However, if the dorm is on Earth, and considering the Earth's rotation and revolution around the Sun, her velocity relative to the Sun is not zero.

For most practical purposes, like her experience doing homework, her velocity would be taken as 0 m/s, which is at rest. However, if we require a more nuanced approach, Andrea's velocity considering Earth's rotation only, would be approximately equal to the circumference of the Earth at the latitude of her location, divided by the duration of one day (24 hours), assuming a simplified circular motion for the Earth's rotation. But this can be further expanded considering Earth's orbital motion around the Sun, adding approximately 30 km/s to her speed in the direction of the Earth's travel around the Sun. Her velocity can also experience slight variations due to Earth's axial precession, and the motion of our solar system within the Milky Way galaxy, and the galaxy's motion relative to the cosmic microwave background.

User Julio Motol
by
7.9k points