My Physics teacher asked us to name 10 ways the text book was moving, any ideas?

Ashli: My Physics teacher asked us to name 10 ways the text book was moving, any ideas?
We were in class the other day, and he randomly places a text book against the white board and asks the class, “For your first physics assignment, I’d like you guys to tell me ten ways this book is moving.” I really am clueless, this is my first physics class. Does anyone have any ideas? They’d all be appreciated. Thanks.

Answers and Views:

Answer by jah
he is trying to say relative to other objects how is it moving (the desk, the earth, the sun, a moving train, etc)

Answer by Hamback
Electrons Neutrons Protons moving as atoms in book
Moving against force of gravity
moving relative to the moon sun and the galaxy
moving against friction

Answer by BoogyMan Messiah
1. The book moves with the geological shifts of tectonic plates.
2. The book moves with the rotation of the Earth upon its axis.
3. It moves with the revolution of the Earth around the Sun.
4. It moves with the orbit of our Sun within the Galaxy
5. It moves with the motion of our Galaxy within the cluster.
6. It moves with the motion of our Galaxy cluster withing the Universe.
7. , 8., 9., 10. : I’m out of ammo, but maybe I caught one that you didn’t have….

Answer by oldprof
What your teacher is getting at is that motion is relative to something… always. So, relative to that white board, the book is not moving. But, what about relative to the pole to pole axis of rotation of Earth? You, him, your desk, and that darn book on the white board are rotating around Earth’s axis of rotation. That’s one way the textbook is moving.

It’s moving relative to the rotation axis. We call that rotation axis a reference frame because we refer to it when describing the books movement. What are some of the obvious other reference frames we can refer to when looking at that book’s motion?

How about the Moon? Is the book moving with respect to (wrt) the Moon? Yep. If we were to stand on the Moon and look toward Earth, we’d see Earth rise and fall wrt the Moon’s horizon. And where the Earth goes, so goes your textbook. So that’s number two way the book is moving while crammed against the white board.

I’m not going to list all the possibilities. But you should get the idea now. How’s the book moving with respect to the Sun, the Milky Way’s center, to nearby Andromeda, to the car passing by the school, etc. etc. Just keep in mind you can designate anything as the reference frame when defining motion. Motion is always… always… relative to something.