A satellite of mass moves in a circular orbit of radius around the Earth.

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

Problem

A satellite of mass

500\,\text{kg}

moves in a circular orbit of radius

7.0\times10^{6}\,\text{m}

around the Earth. (i) Derive an expression for the kinetic energy

K

of the satellite in terms of its orbital time period

T

, the radius

r

of the orbit and fundamental constants, without eliminating

T

numerically at this stage. (ii) Using your expression, calculate the kinetic energy of the satellite if its orbital period is

6000\,\text{s}