Measuring g
Classical Mechanics
Level
2
A person standing on the north pole of the earth measures the acceleration due to gravity as \(-9.81~m.s^2\) by resting a 1 kg block on a spring scale and measuring the force exerted by the scale. What value for the magnitude of the acceleration of gravity in \(m/s^2\) would a person on the equator measure if they performed this experiment?
Details and assumptions
- You may treat the earth as a perfect sphere of radius 6370 km.
- Take the length of a day to be exactly 24 hours.
by
David Mattingly