Can someone help? The Earth is not a perfect sphere; it\'s actually slightly obl
ID: 2043158 • Letter: C
Question
Can someone help?The Earth is not a perfect sphere; it's actually slightly oblate, meaning it bulges a bit around the equator. Given the following facts:
The mass of the Earth is 5.97×1024 kg.
The polar radius of the Earth is 6,356.8 km.
The equatorial radius of the Earth is 6,378.1 km
Mount Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania) is a mere 350 km south of the equator and rises 5,895 m above sea level.
Using these facts, calculate the apparent values of g (acceleration due to Earth's gravity) for someone at the North Pole and someone at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro (which you can treat as though it's directly on the equator). How much different are the local values of g?
Does the Earth's rotation affect the perceived value of g for someone standing on the ground? (Hint: How fast is the ground falling away from you?)
Explanation / Answer
g=GM/R2 R1=Polar radius R2=equitorial radius+5895 m
compute g using R1 and R2 for R ;Mount kilimanjaro is treated to be on the equator
Further if you need to consider the fact that mount is 350 km away from the equator to get the radius
at the point;assume the radius changes uniformly from 6378.1 km to 6356.8 km
distance from equtaor to ploe= x6378.1/2 (1/4 of circumfrence)=s1
change of radius (6378.1-6356.8)km in s1 find the change in 350 km
use this to caluculate radius at Mount .
earth's rotation will not affect the perceived value as the person standing does not change his place.