An Explorer Walks into a Lab in a Science Building

question 59

Multiple Choice

An explorer walks into a lab in a science building. She has a compass in her hand and finds that the south pole of her compass points toward the room's east wall when she is nearer that wall and toward the west wall when she is nearer that wall. You could explain this if magnetized metal had been installed in the east and west walls with north poles pointing into the room. If no magnetic material was installed in the north or south walls of the room, she would expect that

• A)the south pole of the compass would tend to point toward those walls.
• B)the north pole of the compass would tend to point toward those walls.
• C)the compass needle would not point in any particular direction.
• D)the north pole of the compass needle would tend to point toward the centers of those walls, but the south pole would tend to point toward the sides of those walls.
• E)the south pole of the compass needle would tend to point toward the centers of those walls, but the north pole would tend to point toward the sides of those walls.

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Definitions:

Free-Rider Problem

A situation where some individuals consume more than their fair share of a public resource, or shoulder less of the cost of its production.

Public Good

A good that is both non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning individuals cannot be effectively excluded from use and where use by one individual does not reduce availability to others.

Property Rights

Legal rights to own, use, and manage assets or property.

Negatively Affects

Refers to a detrimental impact or influence one variable has on another within a specific context.