A satellite circles the Earth at an altitude of above the surface in

PHYSICS · Subjective · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

A satellite circles the Earth at an altitude of

300\,\text{km}

above the surface in

90\,\text{min}

. Take Earth’s radius

R_{\text E}=6.37\times10^{6}\,\text{m}

and surface acceleration due to gravity

g=9.80\,\text{m}\,\text{s}^{-2}

. (a) Determine the mass of the Earth from the satellite’s orbital data. (b) Determine the mass of the Earth using the given values of

g

and

R_{\text E}

. (c) Calculate the percentage difference between the two values obtained.