Question

Choose all facts that increase the orbital velocity of a vessel around planet B. Bigger mass of planet B smaller mass of planet B smaller mass of vessel vessel orbiting closer to planet B

Answer 1

Answer:

- Bigger mass of planet B  

- orbiting closer to planet B

Explanation:

The orbital velocity of the vessel around the planet can be found by equalizing the force of gravity between the vessel and the planet and the centripetal force:

$G\frac{mM}{r^2}=m\frac{v^2}{r}$

where

G is the gravitational constant

m is the mass of the vessel

M is the mass of the planet

r is the distance between the vessel and the centre of the planet

v is the orbital velocity of the vessel

Re-arranging the formula, we find an expression for v:

$v=\sqrt{\frac{GM}{r}}$

We see that:

- the bigger the mass of the planet, M, the bigger the velocity

- the bigger the distance between the vessel and the planet, r, the smaller the velocity

So, the correct choices that increase the orbital velocity are:

- Bigger mass of planet B  

- orbiting closer to planet B