[Guest]

hopefully this one wasn't done before...

a bear falls into a hole with the acceleration of 10m/s. What color is the bear and why?

[Guest]

10m/s is gravity, so that makes sense if it's falling.

if the hole is deep enough and there is no light, the bear could be any color and you wouldn't be able to tell.

[Guest]

10m/s is gravity, so that makes sense if it's falling.

if the hole is deep enough and there is no light, the bear could be any color and you wouldn't be able to tell.

sorry, nope...

[Guest]

I think it is a brown bear, because if it is falling in a hole it is more likely he is in a forest and fell on a trap!

It can't be a white polar bear, because if it broke the ice over a lake, he wouldn't fall for too long...

[Guest]

When a question asks "what color was the bear?" it is almost always white (or clear if you're really picky.)

This is because something in the question puts the location at North Pole, making the bear a polar bear.

Then we have a short discussion on how polar bears aren't actually found that far North, then we move on.

I think that covers it.

Oh yeah! WELCOME TO THE DEN!!

Edited December 12, 2008 by Grayven

[Guest]

I think it is a brown bear, because if it is falling in a hole it is more likely he is in a forest and fell on a trap!

It can't be a white polar bear, because if it broke the ice over a lake, he wouldn't fall for too long...

again..nope...sorry

hints later on

[Guest]

Oh yeah! WELCOME TO THE DEN!!

it is with the white...but why?

When a question asks "what color was the bear?" it is almost always white (or clear if you're really picky.)

This is because something in the question puts the location at North Pole, making the bear a polar bear.

Then we have a short discussion on how polar bears aren't actually found that far North, then we move on.

I think that covers it.

[Guest]

hopefully this one wasn't done before...

a bear falls into a hole with the acceleration of 10m/s. What color is the bear and why?

Ill say the bear is white because thats usually the answer when bears are involved

The reason its white is usually because its at the north pole

So by reverse deduction the acceleration due to gravity at the north pole is 10m/ss

This slight increase approx 2% must mean that the earth is slightly squashed leaving the bear closer to the center of gravity.

Does the rotation of the earth have anything to do with it, centrifugal force?

This would also mean that you would gain 2% weight just by going there.

This gives me an idea for a scam where I could garantee 2% weight loss just by coming with me on a journey, meet me at the north pole.

Or even better supplying gold or other such weighty commodities

I must go

[Guest]

Ill say the bear is white because thats usually the answer when bears are involved

The reason its white is usually because its at the north pole

So by reverse deduction the acceleration due to gravity at the north pole is 10m/ss

This slight increase approx 2% must mean that the earth is slightly squashed leaving the bear closer to the center of gravity.

Does the rotation of the earth have anything to do with it, centrifugal force?

This would also mean that you would gain 2% weight just by going there.

This gives me an idea for a scam where I could garantee 2% weight loss just by coming with me on a journey, meet me at the north pole.

Or even better supplying gold or other such weighty commodities

I must go

could have said it's because the acceleration at the poles is 10m/s and anywhere else it's 9.8m/s

)

[Guest]

hopefully this one wasn't done before...

a bear falls into a hole with the acceleration of 10m/s. What color is the bear and why?

it is white because only at the poles the acceleration is 10m/s anywhere else the acceleration is 9.8m/s

[Guest]

OHH No I Couldn't

[Guest]

it is white because only at the poles the acceleration is 10m/s anywhere else the acceleration is 9.8m/s

And here I just thought you were rounding up.

[Guest]

And here I just thought you were rounding up.

that's actually the idea ..

[Guest]

Ill say the bear is white because thats usually the answer when bears are involved

The reason its white is usually because its at the north pole

So by reverse deduction the acceleration due to gravity at the north pole is 10m/ss

This slight increase approx 2% must mean that the earth is slightly squashed leaving the bear closer to the center of gravity.

Does the rotation of the earth have anything to do with it, centrifugal force?

This would also mean that you would gain 2% weight just by going there.

This gives me an idea for a scam where I could garantee 2% weight loss just by coming with me on a journey, meet me at the north pole.

Or even better supplying gold or other such weighty commodities

I must go

pretty sure the closer you get to the center of the earth the less acceleration you feel.

pretty sure there is no such thing as centrifugal force, but it is called centripetal force.

[Guest]

below sea level and that hole could be anywhere - except in the sea

BLACK - the skin of bears are black the bear may be white - black and many colours and combos between

BTW - if that is rounded to 10 you should make it clear - unless it sarted quite high (10m to gain momentum) or the hole was extra deep.

[bonanova]

Does the fact that 10 m/s represents a velocity rather than an acceleration matter?

Logically, If FALSE then ANYTHING is valid.

Thus the bear is green.

[Guest]

Does the fact that 10 m/s represents a velocity rather than an acceleration matter?

Logically, If FALSE then ANYTHING is valid.

Thus the bear is green.

Yeah, I caught that too but just thought it was a typo...kinda how I thought it was rounded up.

Oh, and no matter how deep the hole, the bear should always fall at a constant acceleration of 9.8m/s^2

[bonanova]

Yeah, I caught that too but just thought it was a typo...kinda how I thought it was rounded up.

Oh, and no matter how deep the hole, the bear should always fall at a constant acceleration of 9.8m/s^2

Initial.

[Guest]

it is white because only at the poles the acceleration is 10m/s anywhere else the acceleration is 9.8m/s

That not true. Variations in g are not very significant. The mean sea-level gravitational acceleration is 9.78 m/s² at the equator and 9.83 m/s² at the poles. At no point on Earth's surface is it anywhere close to 10.0 m/s².

As was suggested by somebody already, these variations are mainly due to increasing centripetal acceleration as you approach the equator (which is only an apparent effect - the actual gravitational force is not affected by rotation), and to a lesser extent, Earth's oblateness (which I find is generally thought to be of much greater significance than it really is). Altitude and local variations in density also have a very small effect.

Whatever the initial color of the bear, after its fall it will be black and blue...

[bonanova]

Earth's oblateness (which I find is generally thought to be of much greater significance than it really is).

Altitude and local variations in density also have a very small effect.

Altitude and [uniform] oblateness are thought of differently, but they

similarly affect g: by changing the distance from the earth's center of mass.

Agree about the poor bear.

Unless the hole goes all the way through.

Then he turns a crispy brown.

[Guest]

Unless the hole goes all the way through.

Then he turns a crispy brown.

Agreed, although to an observer on the surface it will be a reddish brown, due to red-shifting. Until he reaches the center and is suspended, gravity holding him in place, cooked to a black cinder.

Unless Verne was right, in which case he'll find a paradise devoid of large mammalian predators, with normal surface gravity. He will be the king of all he surveys!

Edited December 12, 2008 by xucam

[bonanova]

Unless Verne was right, in which case he'll find a paradise devoid of large mammalian predators, with normal surface gravity. He will be the king of all he surveys!

We're pretty sure gravitational pull comes only from the mass within the sphere determined by your distance from the center.

Gravitational pull by the mass outside that sphere cancels to zero.

I guess that means the bear oscillates forever; but eventually his hair is badly singed.

[Guest]

I think it is safe to forgo the spoiler for this one...

All of this discussion brings us back around to the implied part of my answer, I believe. The bear is white because the OP intended for the location to be the North Pole. Correct or not, I'm sure a strong case can be made for intent.

Q: blah blah blah(random fact, at least supposedly unique to the North Pole)blah blah blah what color is the bear?

A: The bear is white because of unique property of the North Pole, etc.

I know, I'm cynical and jaded.

I'm not saying that the riddles are bad, just that I've yet to see a riddle that asks you the color of the bear, and the bear turns out to be anything other than white.

[Guest]

Altitude and [uniform] oblateness are thought of differently, but they

similarly affect g: by changing the distance from the earth's center of mass.

Not entirely. Even a satellite in a circular polar orbit will experience a perturbation due to Earth's oblateness, despite the fact that its altitude is constant (well, initially, anyway). The effect is opposite that of the change in radius (lower gravitational force at the poles). However, the net effect at the surface is still an increase in g, but less than what would be expected from changing r alone.