Question

If the Earth is our system, is the net external torque zero or nonzero. How do you know?

Answer 1

If the net torque on Earth is zero, then the net angular acceleration of the Earth is zero. This means the Earth is either not spinning at all, or it is spinning at a constant velocity.

If the net torque on Earth is not zero, then the Earth has some net angular acceleration. This means the Earth is spinning either progressively faster or slower in one direction.

So to answer this question, we need to know if and how the Earth is spinning. Does the Earth rotate? And if so, does it rotate at a constant speed or a changing speed? Answer these questions and you'll have your answer!

Answer 2

thank you!