If a satellite's altitude is increased, what happens to its orbital period?
Practice Questions
Q1
If a satellite's altitude is increased, what happens to its orbital period?
It decreases
It increases
It remains constant
It becomes zero
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If a satellite's altitude is increased, what happens to its orbital period?
Step 1: Understand what altitude means. Altitude is how high the satellite is above the Earth's surface.
Step 2: Know what orbital period means. The orbital period is the time it takes for the satellite to complete one full orbit around the Earth.
Step 3: Realize that when the altitude increases, the satellite is farther away from the Earth.
Step 4: Remember that the force of gravity decreases with distance. A satellite farther from the Earth feels less gravitational pull.
Step 5: Understand that because of this weaker gravitational pull, the satellite moves more slowly in its orbit.
Step 6: Conclude that if the satellite moves more slowly, it takes longer to complete one orbit, which means the orbital period increases.
Kepler's Third Law – The relationship between the orbital period of a satellite and its distance from the center of the Earth, indicating that a greater distance results in a longer orbital period.
Gravitational Force – Understanding how gravitational force decreases with distance, affecting the satellite's speed and orbital characteristics.
