Name:_____________________________________________Date:___________ Pd.:_______
Practice with Satellites
AP Physics
1. For a geosynchronous communications satellite (time period 24 hours) determine,
a) the distance from the surface of the earth
b) the speed of the satellite
2. The moon’s orbit around the earth is approximately a circle of radius 3.84 x 108 m. Its period
is about 27.3 days. With this information determine the mass of the earth.
3. Calculate the mass of the planet Jupiter from the following information:
Io, one of the moons of Jupiter has a circular orbit of radius 4.2 x 108 m and its period is 42.5
hours.
4. An object at rest on the surface of the earth completes “one orbit” around the earth in 24
hours. But this object is not a satellite. What would be the time period of a hypothetical satellite
at the level of the earth’s surface?
Multiple Choice:
5. A satellite A of mass m and a satellite B of mass 2m are both in the same circular orbit around
the earth. Which of the following is true about these satellites?
I. Both have same speed
II. Both have same acceleration
III. The KE of B is twice that of A
a) all three
b) I and II only
d) I and III only
e) none of these
c) III only
6. Time period of a satellite in circular orbit around a planet does not depend on
a) its distance from the planet
b) mass of the satellite
c) gravitational field of the planet
d) mass of the planet
e) all of these
7. Which of the following is responsible for astronauts in orbit around the earth feeling
weightless?
a) very weak or no gravity at that distance
b) they are in a vacuum
c) there is no normal force supporting them as they are in “free fall”
d) the pull of the earth on them is cancelled by the pull of the moon
e) inside of the spacecraft is made gravitation free