Question

A satellite orbits the earth at a speed of 8.0x 10^3m/s . Calculate the period of orbit of the satellite if the distance between the centre of the earth and the satellite is 6400km?​

Answer 1

Hi there!

The period of an orbit can be found by:

$T = \frac{2\pi r}{v}$

T = Period (? s)
r = radius of orbit (6400000 m)

v = speed of the satellite (8000 m/s)

This is the same as the distance = vt equation. The total distance traveled by the satellite is the circumference of its circular orbit.

Let's plug in what we know and solve.

$T = \frac{2\pi (6400000)}{8000} = \boxed{5026.55 s}$