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Ch 13: Gravitation
Chapter 13, Problem 13

Two satellites are in circular orbits around a planet that has radius 9.00 * 10^6 m. One satellite has mass 68.0 kg, orbital radius 7.00 * 10^7 m, and orbital speed 4800 m/s. The second satellite has mass 84.0 kg and orbital radius 3.00 * 10^7 m. What is the orbital speed of this second satellite?

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1
Identify the formula for the orbital speed of a satellite in a circular orbit, which is given by $v = \sqrt{\frac{GM}{r}}$, where $v$ is the orbital speed, $G$ is the gravitational constant, $M$ is the mass of the planet, and $r$ is the orbital radius.
Use the given information of the first satellite to find the mass of the planet. Rearrange the formula to solve for $M$: $M = \frac{v^2 r}{G}$. Substitute $v = 4800 \, \text{m/s}$ and $r = 7.00 \times 10^7 \, \text{m}$ into the equation.
Calculate the mass of the planet using the values from the previous step and the gravitational constant $G = 6.674 \times 10^{-11} \, \text{m}^3 \text{kg}^{-1} \text{s}^{-2}$.
Now, use the mass of the planet calculated in step 3 to find the orbital speed of the second satellite. Substitute $M$ and the orbital radius of the second satellite $r = 3.00 \times 10^7 \, \text{m}$ into the orbital speed formula $v = \sqrt{\frac{GM}{r}}$.
Compute the orbital speed of the second satellite using the values from step 4.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Gravitational Force

The gravitational force is the attractive force between two masses, described by Newton's law of universal gravitation. It states that the force is proportional to the product of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. This force is crucial for understanding how satellites maintain their orbits around a planet.
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Centripetal Acceleration

Centripetal acceleration is the acceleration directed towards the center of a circular path, necessary for an object to maintain its circular motion. It is calculated using the formula a_c = v^2 / r, where v is the orbital speed and r is the radius of the orbit. This concept helps in determining the relationship between the speed of a satellite and its distance from the planet.
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Orbital Speed

Orbital speed is the speed at which an object must travel to maintain a stable orbit around a celestial body. It can be derived from the balance of gravitational force and centripetal force acting on the satellite. For circular orbits, the formula v = √(GM/r) is used, where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the planet, and r is the orbital radius.
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