Name: _____________________________________
Satellite Lab - Satellite Playground Lab
Purpose: In this activity you will be examining the factors that affect the speed of a satellite
around a planet.
Part 1: Satellite Mass and Speed
1. Open the satellite playground program
http://www.thephysicsaviary.com/Physics/Programs/Labs/SatelliteLab/index.html.
2. Pick one of the actual solar system objects as your central body. Keep this constant
throughout this part of the lab. You can click “Planet”, then “Change Planet” to
choose one.
3. Pick one of the satellites. Click “Satellite” and then “Change Satellite” to choose one.
4. Raise or lower the distance from the center of the planet to the satellite. Once you
are happy with your location, keep this constant for this entire portion of the lab.
5. Below, draw a sketch with labelled planet, satellite, and radius (click “Ruler” – Note:
Mm = 1 megameter = 1 x 106m). Calculate the circumference of the orbit your
satellite will be making.
6. Click”Start”. Allow the satellite to complete one full rotation. Click “Pause” and
record the time for one revolution below (period of revolution).
7. Calculate the speed of the satellite. Record in the table below
8. Repeat for each of the different satellite options for this program as well as their
mass, the period of revolution and the calculated speed of the satellite.
Satellite
Mass
period
speed
Using that data above, what effect does the satellite's mass has on its orbital speed and
period?
Part 2: Orbital Radius and Speed
1. Pick one of the satellites and use it for the entire rest of the experiment. Keep the
central body the same for the rest of this part of the experiment.
2. Pull up the ruler and note how far the satellite is from the center of the Earth. This
distance is your orbital radius. Depending on the scale for your planet, the ruler will
be in kilometers or Megameters.
3. Complete the data table below for 8 different orbital radii (click “Reset” and then
Altitude arrows) and their associated orbital periods and speeds. (speed =
circumference/period)
Orbital Radius
Orbital period
Orbital Speed
How does the orbital speed change with the orbital radius?
Part 3: Central Body Mass and Speed
1. For this part of the lab you are going to be working with your custom planet. You
will need to set up a radius for your planet and an orbital radius for your satellite.
Once these are set, don't vary them for the remainder of this part of the lab.
Orbital radius: _____________________
2. Complete the table below for the mass of the central body, the orbital period and the
orbital speed of your satellite. Collect data for 5 different planet masses.
Mass of planet
Orbital period
Orbital speed
Create a graph showing the speed of the satellite vs. planet mass. Find the equation for this
relationship. Show your work below.