Assuming the earth to be a uniform sphere rotating about an axis through the poles, the weight of a body at equator compared with its weight at the pole would be:
Correct answer: A. Greater
- A. Greater
- B. Smaller
- C. Equal
- D. None of these
Explanation
If we consider the Earth to be a perfect sphere (ignoring its actual oblate spheroid shape), the weight of a body at the equator would be slightly more than its weight at the pole. This is due to the centripetal acceleration caused by the Earth's rotation. At the equator, a point on the Earth's surface is moving faster in its rotation than a point at the poles. The centripetal acceleration needed to keep an object moving in a circle is given by: ac= v2/r where: - ac is the centripetal acceleration, - v is the linear velocity (speed) of the object, and - r is the radius of the circle (distance from the center of the Earth).
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