Fundamentals of Physics Extended (10th Edition)

Published by Wiley
ISBN 10: 1-11823-072-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-11823-072-5

Chapter 13 - Gravitation - Problems - Page 383: 62b

Answer

The ratio of the kinetic energy of satellite B to satellite A is $~~\frac{1}{2}$

Work Step by Step

Let $R_E$ be the Earth's radius The kinetic energy of an orbiting satellite at a height $h$ above the Earth's surface is $K = \frac{GMm}{2(R_E+h)}$ We can find the ratio of the kinetic energy of satellite B to satellite A: $\frac{K_B}{K_A} = \frac{\frac{GMm}{(2)(6370~km+19,110~km)}}{\frac{GMm}{(2)(6370~km+6370~km)}}$ $\frac{K_B}{K_A} = \frac{(2)(6370~km+6370~km)}{(2)(6370~km+19,110~km)}$ $\frac{K_B}{K_A} = \frac{12,740~km}{25,480~km}$ $\frac{K_B}{K_A} = \frac{1}{2}$ The ratio of the kinetic energy of satellite B to satellite A is $~~\frac{1}{2}$
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