If a satellite is moved to a higher orbit, what happens to its orbital period?
Practice Questions
Q1
If a satellite is moved to a higher orbit, what happens to its orbital period?
It decreases.
It increases.
It remains the same.
It becomes zero.
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If a satellite is moved to a higher orbit, what happens to its orbital period?
Step 1: Understand what an orbit is. An orbit is the path a satellite takes around a planet or moon.
Step 2: Learn about orbital period. The orbital period is the time it takes for a satellite to complete one full orbit.
Step 3: Know that higher orbits mean the satellite is farther from the planet. When a satellite is moved to a higher orbit, it is further away from the planet it orbits.
Step 4: Remember Kepler's third law. This law states that the square of the orbital period of a satellite is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit (which is the average distance from the planet).
Step 5: Apply Kepler's third law. Since the satellite is now in a higher orbit (further away), the semi-major axis is larger, which means the orbital period must increase.
Step 6: Conclude that when a satellite is moved to a higher orbit, it takes longer to complete one orbit, so its orbital period increases.
Kepler's Third Law – This law states that the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit, indicating that as the distance from the central body increases, the orbital period also increases.
