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Tucker asked in Science & MathematicsPhysics · 12 months ago

physics help?

A satellite orbits a planet at a distance of 3.00x10^8 m. Assume that this distance is between the centers of the planet and the satellite and that the mass of the planet is 6.58x10^24 kg. Find the period for the satellite's motion around the planet. Express the answer in earth days.

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    12 months ago
    Favorite Answer

    Rearranging the general formula yields:

    T = 2𝞹 √(r³/(GM₁)) as the mass of the satellite cancels out. G is universal gravity constant.

    sub in your values and then change units to days.

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  • 12 months ago

    I won't do your homework for you but maybe this will help.  

    Newton's Law is F=Gmm/R^2  You can get the acceleration by dividing the mass of the Satellite.

    The acceleration is a=v^2/R since it has to balance gravity for an orbit.....

    You can solve for v. 

    The circumference of the orbit is C=2 pi R

    At a velocity of v you can figure out how long to go around.

    You probably now have the time in seconds for an orbit.  depending on the units you had for G (be cautious about the units, the units in the problem are meters and kilograms so G in mks or cgs will mean you need to get the units of either R or m in that system you chose)

    An earth year is about pi x 10^7 seconds but you can work that out from 365.23 days per year.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    12 months ago

    For a circular orbit of radius r,

    T = 2pi sqrt(r^3 / (GM))

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