What is the effect of increasing the mass of a satellite on its orbital radius,
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the effect of increasing the mass of a satellite on its orbital radius, assuming the speed remains constant?
The orbital radius increases
The orbital radius decreases
The orbital radius remains the same
It depends on the gravitational force
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the effect of increasing the mass of a satellite on its orbital radius, assuming the speed remains constant?
Step 1: Understand that a satellite orbits a planet due to gravity.
Step 2: Know that the gravitational force depends on the mass of the planet and the distance from the planet's center, not the mass of the satellite.
Step 3: Recognize that for a satellite to stay in orbit, the gravitational force must equal the centripetal force needed to keep it moving in a circle.
Step 4: If the speed of the satellite is constant, the required centripetal force remains the same.
Step 5: Since the gravitational force does not change with the mass of the satellite, the orbital radius does not change either.
Step 6: Conclude that increasing the mass of the satellite does not affect its orbital radius if its speed remains constant.
