A plane takes off at St. Louis and flies straight to Denver, and then returns the same way. The plane flies at the same speed with respect to tthe ground during the entire flight, and there are no head winds or tail winds. Since the earth revolves around its axis once a day you might expect the times for the trip to be different depending if the plane travels against the rotations of the earth or with the rotation of the earth. Thetimes are in fact the same under the conditions given. Explain why.
2006-10-18 10:31:35 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
The key here is when it says that "The plane flies at the same speed *with respect to the ground*".
Thus, no matter how the earth is rotating, if it's speed is measured with respect to the ground, you have effectively removed it from the equation.
2006-10-19 08:13:22 · answer #1 · answered by ³√carthagebrujah 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The atmosphere rotates with the rest of the earth if it did not we would have a very high wind at all times
2006-10-18 17:35:55 · answer #2 · answered by oldhippypaul 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋