City A, is approximately 120 miles due west of City B. They are in the same time zone and at the same elevation. How much sooner would a person in City B see the rising sun than a person in City A?
The speed of the rotation of the earth is 1 revolution per day. 1 revolution = the perimeter of the earth = 2 Pi r r =6.4x103 km is the radius of the earth => 1 revolution = 2 x 3.14 x 6.4x103 = 40192 km
Therefore the speed of the earth is: t = (40192/ 24) km/hr=1675 km/hr = (1675/1.609) mile/3600 second = 0.2891 mile/sec www.ddhw.com
1 mile = 1.609 km; 1 hour = 3600 second. We are given that the distance between this two cities is 120 miles, so after T seconds the person on the west side (city A) will see the sunrise: T= 120 miles / 0.2891 mile/sec ~ 415.08 seconds ~ 6.9 mintes
So the person on the east side (city B) will see the rising sun about 6.9 minutes sooner than the one on the west side.