Mission CG8: Satellite Motion

Mission CG8 pertains to the speed, acceleration, and net force experienced by an orbiting satellite. The mission consists of 36 questions organized into 9 Question Groups. You must answer one question from each Question Group to complete the mission. The learning outcomes for this mission are ...
 

Learning Outcomes

• The student should be able to identify the variables affecting the orbital speed of a satellite and discuss the dependence of orbital speed upon these variables.
• The student should be able to identify the variables affecting the acceleration and net force acting upon an orbiting satellite and discuss the dependence of a and F_net upon these variables.

 

Launch Mission CG8

 

Getting Help

If you are not familiar with this topic, then you should first learn about the topic using our written Tutorial or our Video Tutorial:
 

The Physics Classroom - Circular Motion Unit, Lesson 4, Part b

• What quantities effect the orbital speed of a satellite?
• How does the mass of a satellite effect its orbital speed?
• How does the mass of a planet effect the speed required of satellites which orbit it?
• How does the orbital radius effect the orbital speed of a satellite?
• What variables effect the net force of an orbiting satellite?
• For a satellite in an elliptical orbit, how does its speed vary during any given orbit?
• For a satellite in an elliptical orbit, how does the net force experienced by it vary during any given orbit?
• For a satellite in an elliptical orbit, how can the direction of the velocity vector and the net force vector best be described?

 

Video Tutorials:

Circular Motion Principles for Satellites

Satellite Motion Mathematics

 

 

Question-Specific Help

Each Question Group has its own Help page with information specific to the question. You can access the Help page from within the mission by tapping on the Help Me! icon (textbook). For your convenience, links to those pages are provided below: