Which moves faster when you look up into the sky while on a date?

[Syringer]

I dunno how this came about but my professor assigned this as a homework assignment:

"When you're on a date, and you're walking together and looking up at the sky, which is moving faster, the MOON, or the CLOUDS?"

Thanks for any insight, hopefully somebody here has heard this before!

 

[pulse8]

My uneducated guess would be the clouds because they are closer.

 

[StageLeft]

<< My uneducated guess would be the clouds because they are closer. >>

Relative to you the clouds. The moon has a faster overall speed I'd guess.

 

[Nitemare]

appearance wise it would be the clouds..in actuality the moon. The moon is so much further away and has to move at a greater speed in relation to the earth.

 

[Arschloch]

My first inkling is to say the moon. Actually, I guess it depends on which moves faster -- the earth, or the moon? If the moon revolves around the earth at a faster speed than the earth revolves around the sun, then the moon is moving faster than the clouds... if the earth is faster than the moon, then the clouds are faster than the moon.

 

[Ameesh]

the moon.

 

[Bulk Beef]

Clearly a trick question: while the clouds may or may not appear to move faster, unless they are moving at around 2000 mph, the moon is faster.

 

[Arschloch]

According to this site, the moon revolves around the earth at 2,300 mph, while the earth rotates around the sun at 66,705 mph. On the other hand, the moon is therefore ALSO revolving around the sun at 66,705 mph.

My guess is that it depends on your perspective. *shrug*

 

[trmiv]

Well, if you are on a date, hopefully the girl moves faster than either one.

 

[Bulk Beef]

<< According to this site, the moon revolves around the earth at 2,300 mph, while the earth rotates around the sun at 66,705 mph. On the other hand, the moon is therefore ALSO revolving around the sun at 66,705 mph.

My guess is that it depends on your perspective. *shrug* >>

Holy crap, you just blew my mind. How fast is the sun going? The galaxy? The universe? AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[StageLeft]

It's probably night so perhaps you can't even see clouds

 

[royaldank]

My guess is the clouds, since the earth would seem to be rotating faster than the moon going around it. I mean, it takes the moon roughly 30 days to rotate around the earth. So, that means the clounds are going around and around 30 times while the moon rotates once around.

However, it could be that the moon is so far away, it's moving faster to actually get around once every 30 days and is moving further in that 30 days that the clouds do.

 

[Syringer]

Thanks for the help guys, I was just hoping that maybe somebody might have heard this damn question and had already gotten the answer, I'm sure it's some sort of a trick question

He's just that type of professor, really witty and such.

 

[Lars]

<<

<< According to this site, the moon revolves around the earth at 2,300 mph, while the earth rotates around the sun at 66,705 mph. On the other hand, the moon is therefore ALSO revolving around the sun at 66,705 mph.

My guess is that it depends on your perspective. *shrug*

>>

Holy crap, you just blew my mind. How fast is the sun going? The galaxy? The universe? AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! >>




ROFL

 

[Syringer]

I was just thinking, we're in Los Angeles, and the pollution is so bad that you don't see the clouds at night, but then I just realized that sometimes they DO appear... damnit

 

[Zenmervolt]

The answer really depends upon where you choose as your fixed point. Since the fixed point would appear to be you as you stand on the surface of the earth, then the moon is easily moving with a greater velocity relative to you. As long as you mention that you are taking the person standing and looking at the clouds and the moon as the initial reference point, I don't see how you could be wrong to say that the moon is moving faster. Also, picking the person as the initial reference point conviently sidesteps the problem of figuring out whether the moon is travelling faster than the earth relative to the sun. Just disregard everything in parentheses unless you are rather impervious to confusion. (The moon is moving faster than the earth relative to the sun through half it's orbit, but through the other half of the moon's orbit it is moving more slowly than the earth relative to the sun, though there are two points at which the speed of the moon is exactly the same as the speed of the earth relative to the sun.)

ZV

 

[conjur]

uh...can't see the moon if it's cloudy.


duh...everyone stop being so ANALytic

 

[Zenmervolt]

<< uh...can't see the moon if it's cloudy.


duh...everyone stop being so ANALytic

>>



But you can see the moon when it's cloudy. Ever hear of the term "partially cloudy"?

ZV

 

[conjur]

But the prof, I'm sure, is using an old trick question. Seems I even had one pull it on a class of mine once.

 

[Syringer]

But does "Going out on a date" have any relevance to that??

 

[conjur]

<shrug>

Doubt it. But, post back tomorrow what the prof was thinking!

 

[Xenon14]

This question is EASY.


OK, the moon has a constant speed... ~2300mph, the moon thus can be used to measure time (i.e. Lunar calendars). The clouds can move very steadily or very quickly, relatively to the moon. So relatively, the clouds can be moving faster than the moon. And in reality the moon is moving faster than the clouds. In order to solve this, you have to read into the problem very carefully... "You are on a date." And as everyone knows, "time flies when you're having fun." Thus, the moon must be going faster than the clouds. (unless of course it's a bad date, but we assume it isn't, since dates have positive connotations to them.

 

[Zenmervolt]

<< But the prof, I'm sure, is using an old trick question. Seems I even had one pull it on a class of mine once. >>

Oh, absolutely the prof is, but to me it's always so much more fun to go in with an answer like mine and watch the questioner's eyes glaze over.

ZV

 

[conjur]

 

[LordThing]

What class is this for? That might also tell what kinda answer he is looking for. And why does it matter that you are on a date?

Still, I think you might have hit on the answer. If there are clouds, then there is a possibility the moon is covered. So, neither, since you can't judge the relative speed when the both are not in view.