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11th grade Satellites: orbital speed and period worksheet

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Satellites: orbital speed and period

Grade 11 Science Worksheet

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Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. At the low end of the ISS's range, 370 km up, what is the orbital speed to the nearest hundredth, Ari?

  2. Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. At the high end of the ISS's range, 460 km up, what is the orbital speed to the nearest hundredth, Bo?

  3. Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. For a model satellite 2000 km up, what is the orbital speed to the nearest hundredth, Esme?

  4. Thin air drags on the ISS and slowly lowers its orbit. What must its engines do now and then, Kira?

    • Nothing, since it rises again by itself
    • Slow it down so it stays up
    • Boost it back up

  5. NASA gives the Moon's orbit a semimajor axis of 384,400 km. About how far does the Moon travel in one orbit, Milo?

    • About 1.2 million km
    • About 384,400 km
    • About 2.4 million km

  6. The Moon travels about 2,415,000 km per orbit in 27.32 days (NASA). What is its average speed, Noah?

    • About 1.02 km/s
    • About 88,400 km/s, treating days as seconds
    • About 0.01 km/s

  7. Why is the Moon's orbital speed, 1.022 km/s, so much lower than the ISS's, Pia?

    • It is much farther from Earth's center
    • It has no engines
    • Earth's pull stops partway to the Moon

  8. A 1 kg and a 100 kg model satellite orbit at the same height. How do their speeds compare, Ren?

    • The 1 kg one is faster
    • The 100 kg one is faster
    • They are the same

  9. Why doesn't the satellite's own mass appear in v = √(GM ÷ r), Tala?

    • Mass doesn't matter in space
    • Satellites have too little mass to count
    • It cancels: the pull and the force needed both grow with it

  10. In v = √(GM ÷ r) for a satellite around Earth, what is M, Zee?

    • Earth's mass
    • The satellite's mass
    • The Moon's mass
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11th grade Satellites: orbital speed and period worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Satellites: orbital speed and period. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can explain an orbit. Gravity pulls toward Earth's center while the satellite's sideways speed carries it around, so it falls without landing; things inside the ISS float because they fall together.
  • I can find orbital speed, v = √(GM ÷ r), and period, T = 2π√(r³ ÷ GM), with r measured from Earth's center, using NASA's GM = 398,600 km³/s².
  • I can say that lower orbits are faster and shorter. The ISS (370–460 km) moves at about 7.6–7.7 km/s and takes about 92–94 min; the Moon moves at 1.022 km/s and takes 27.32 days.

Standard: HS-PS2-4, HS-ESS1-4

Words to know

orbit: The curved path of one body around another

orbital speed: The speed a body needs to stay in a circular orbit

period: The time for one full orbit

GM: Earth's mass times G: 398,600 km³/s²

reboost: An engine burn that raises a sinking orbit

Common mistakes

Your child divided hours instead of minutes. A day has 24 × 60 = 1440 minutes.

Your child thought there is no gravity in orbit. Gravity at the ISS's height is still close to the surface value; things float because they fall together.

Your child thought higher orbits are faster. Gravity is weaker farther out, so a higher circular orbit is slower and takes longer.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with satellites: orbital speed and period?

Your child divided hours instead of minutes. A day has 24 × 60 = 1440 minutes.

Are these 11th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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