Question

Study the dashed arrows in the image.

A diagram of the Earth rotating on its axis. A red horizontal line through the center of the Earth shows the Equator. A double headed arrow runs vertically through the center of the Earth and is labeled Intended path. A line begins at the bottom right of the Earth, curves to pass through the center, and ends in the top right.

What causes the arrows to move in this direction?

Earth rotating
air moving to the poles
Earth’s equator
wind moving over short distances

Answer 1

Earth rotating.

The curved dashed arrows are caused by the Coriolis effect — the apparent deflection of moving air (or any moving object) due to Earth’s rotation. Objects moving north or south keep their original east–west speed relative to the ground, so their paths appear curved instead of straight.