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Viewed from above the North Pole, Earth rotates counterclockwise. In which hemisphere does the Coriolis force deflect a moving object to the right?
AOnly in the southern hemisphere
BNowhere, Earth spins too slowly
CEqually in both hemispheres at once
DIn the northern hemisphere only
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. In the northern hemisphere only
1. Earth's rotation, viewed from above the North Pole, is counterclockwise, matching the merry-go-round example used to explain the Coriolis force.
2. By analogy with that example, any motion in the northern hemisphere experiences a Coriolis force to the right.
3. The southern hemisphere experiences the opposite deflection, to the left, so the effect is not equal in both hemispheres.
4. The Coriolis force is usually negligible for small-scale everyday motions because Earth's angular velocity is small, but it is not zero, and it becomes substantial for large-scale motions like wind patterns.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 6 "Uniform Circular Motion and Gravitation", section 6.4 Fictitious Forces and Non-inertial Frames: The Coriolis Force_
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