Answer
a) 2,060,082 meters
b) 805,145 meters
Work Step by Step
We know that the current radius of orbit is equal to its height plus the radius of the earth. Thus, we find:
$ r=(6.37\times10^6)+(5.5\times10^6)=1.187\times10^7$
a) We know that the orbit changes by a factor of $1-\frac{1}{1.1^2}=.17$
We multiply this by the value of r to find: $r=\fbox{2,060,082 meters}$
b) In this problem, we need to use the equation for orbital period to find the change in radius. Since the value of T is squared and the value of r is cubed, we find that the orbit changes by a factor of $|1-\frac{1}{.9^{2/3}}|=.06783$
We multiply this by the value of r to find: $r=\fbox{805,145 meters}$
