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A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth. If the radius of the orbit

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Question: A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth. If the radius of the orbit is increased, what happens to the orbital speed of the satellite?

Options:

  1. Increases
  2. Decreases
  3. Remains the same
  4. Depends on the mass of the satellite

Correct Answer: Decreases

Solution: 

Orbital speed (v) = √(GM/r). As r increases, v decreases.

A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth. If the radius of the orbit

Practice Questions

Q1
A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth. If the radius of the orbit is increased, what happens to the orbital speed of the satellite?
  1. Increases
  2. Decreases
  3. Remains the same
  4. Depends on the mass of the satellite

Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions

A satellite is in a circular orbit around the Earth. If the radius of the orbit is increased, what happens to the orbital speed of the satellite?
Correct Answer: Orbital speed decreases.
  • Step 1: Understand that a satellite orbits the Earth in a circular path.
  • Step 2: Know that the orbital speed of the satellite depends on two things: the gravitational constant (G) and the mass of the Earth (M), as well as the radius of the orbit (r).
  • Step 3: The formula for orbital speed (v) is v = √(GM/r).
  • Step 4: Notice that in this formula, the radius (r) is in the denominator (the bottom part).
  • Step 5: If the radius (r) increases (gets larger), the value of GM stays the same, but the overall fraction (GM/r) becomes smaller.
  • Step 6: Since v is the square root of (GM/r), if (GM/r) gets smaller, then v (the orbital speed) also gets smaller.
  • Step 7: Therefore, when the radius of the orbit increases, the orbital speed of the satellite decreases.
  • Orbital Mechanics – Understanding how the gravitational force and radius of orbit affect the speed of a satellite.
  • Inverse Relationship – Recognizing that as the radius of the orbit increases, the orbital speed decreases due to the inverse square law.
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