Question

The source of the Mississippi River, is closer to the centre of the Earth than is its outlet in Louisiana (because the Earth is fatter at the equator than at the poles). Explain how the Mississippi can flow "uphill."

Short answer

The gravitational force will provide a centripetal force on the droplets of water present in the Mississippi river.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Understanding the gravitational force on Earth

The gravitational force on droplets of water in the Mississippi will be equivalent at the outlet and at the headwaters if it is assumed that the Earth is a non-rotating sphere.

Step 2. Explaining the flow of Mississippi in the uphill

The water droplets in the Mississippi river experiences a centripetal force due to the Earth's gravitational force, and this centripetal force is smaller for the headwaters located at the North pole. Mathematically, the centripetal force will be equal to,

$F=mg-N$

Here, F is the centripetal force, m is the mass, g is the gravitational acceleration and N is the normal force.

The normal force N at outlet is smaller in order to make the river flow. Also, this will overcome the effects of the flow of water in the uphill.