Four identical satellites P, Q, R and S move in separate circular orbits around Earth

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

Four identical satellites P, Q, R and S move in separate circular orbits around Earth. The radii and periods of their orbits are given below. (a) Part 1: (i) Complete the table by calculating the speed of each satellite.

Satellite	Radius $r$ (km)	Period $T$ (min)	Speed $v$ (km/min)
P	$6.5\,\times 10^{3}$	90	—
Q	$1.0\,\times 10^{4}$	140	—
R	$1.5\,\times 10^{4}$	210	—
S	$3.0\,\times 10^{4}$	420	—

(b) Part 2: (ii) Arrange the satellites in descending order of speed. (c) Part 3: (iii) Using the completed table, state two observations that relate the speed of a satellite to (a) the radius of its orbit and (b) the period of revolution.

Related theory

Centripetal Acceleration
Uniform Circular Motion
Satellites & Orbital Motion
Gravitation
Orbital velocity and period
Orbital motion
Earth satellites

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