Consider a large simple pendulum that is located at a latitude of 55.0o N and is swinging in a north-south direction with points A and B being the northernmost and the southernmost points of the swing, respectively. A stationary (with respect to the fixed stars) observer is looking directly down on the pendulum at the moment shown in the figure. The Earth is rotating once every 23 h and 56 min.

a) What are the directions (in terms of N, E, W, and S) and the magnitudes of the velocities of the surface of the Earth at points A and B as seen by the observer? Note: You will need to calculate answers to at least seven significant figures to see a difference.
b) What is the angular speed with which the 20.0-m diameter circle under the pendulum appears to rotate?
c) What is the period of this rotation?
d) What would happen to a pendulum swinging at the Equator?

Transcribed Image Text:

Observer diretl (小servers view orth Pole 20.0 m 55.00 Equator South Pol