Coriolis Effect on Water in a Sink

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the acceleration and deflection of water in a sink due to the Coriolis effect in the northern hemisphere. The participant is attempting to derive the acceleration using the formula a = -2(wv), but is uncertain about the appropriate value for angular velocity (w) since it was not provided. For the second part, they express confusion about how to calculate the distance of deflection, considering the formula v² = 2ad from physics but unsure if it applies. There is a consensus that the angular velocity should relate to the Earth's rotation rather than the water's movement. Overall, the conversation highlights the challenges in applying theoretical physics concepts to practical scenarios.
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Homework Statement



v = 0.05m/s (was told to estimate the velocity of water)

a)What is the acceleration "a" the water will feel, deflecting it to the right (if the sink is to the northern hemisphere)

b)Across the size of the sink, over what distance would the water be deflected to the right at this rate of acceleration?

Homework Equations



F= -2m(wv) = ma

where w is angular velocity (measured radians per second)

The Attempt at a Solution



For question a), I can do the problem if I estimate the w, which is angular velocity. This is because F= ma = -2m(wv).
The mass cancels out, so the equation becomes:
a = -2(wv)
What I'm not sure is if there is a sure answer for angular velocity, since the question only tells me to estimate the velocity of the water and didn't tell me to estimate the angular velocity. If there is an actual angular velocity, I would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.

For question b), I've never seen a question like this. I know the formula v2=2ad from physics 12, so I can plug in the velocity and acceleration from the previous question, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to use this formula because we weren't taught it in class.

From the given formula that we had to work with (Coriolis force formula), I can't seem to find anything to do with distance.
 
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I would assume for angular velocity you use the spinning Earth's angular velocity since this is all about the Coriollis affect. For the second part maybe someone else can have some input on it, not sure what other formula you can use there.
 
Thank you JoeyStorm. I was thinking that too, but I thought the angular velocity needed to be the speed in which the water rotated. I guess your way makes more sense then mine.
 
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