Satellites: orbital speed and period
Grade 11 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. For a model satellite 400 km up, inside the ISS's range, what is the period in minutes, to the nearest tenth, Ari?
Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. For a model satellite 1000 km up, what is the period in minutes, to the nearest tenth, Bo?
Earth's GM is 398,600 km³/s² and its radius is 6371 km. For a model satellite in a high test orbit 2000 km up, what is the period in minutes, to the nearest tenth, Esme?
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Circular orbits around Earth, worked out from Earth's GM (computed from NASA's GM)
Height (km) Speed (km/s) Period (min) 600 7.56 96.5 1500 7.12 115.8 10000 4.93 347.4 35786 3.07 1435.7 Using the table, how do speed and period change as the height goes up, Jun?
- Speed falls and the period grows
- Speed rises and the period grows
- Both stay about the same
Using the table, at which height does one orbit take about one day, Kira?
- 35,786 km
- 10,000 km
- 600 km
Using the table, about how many times longer is the period at 10,000 km than at 600 km, Luz?
- About 2 times
- About 3.6 times
- About 16.7 times
Noah says the Moon moves faster than the ISS because its orbit is much bigger. Agree or disagree?
- Agree: bigger orbits need higher speeds
- Agree: the Moon is heavier
- Disagree: the ISS is about 7.5 times as fast
Pia says there is no gravity at the ISS's height. Agree or disagree?
- Agree: gravity stops above the air
- Disagree: g there is still about 8.5–8.8 N/kg
- Agree: things float there, so gravity there is zero
A model satellite moves from an orbit 1000 km up to one 2000 km up. How do its speed and period change, Ren?
- Both grow
- Speed rises; period falls
- Speed falls; period grows
Why does draw a line from thin air make the ISS's orbit shrink over time, Tala?
- Drag adds energy
- Drag takes away energy, so it sinks lower
- Drag pushes it outward