Question

a satellite is traveling in a orbit around the earth. what change would cause it to experience more gravitational force from the earth? A. orbiting closer to the earths surface. B. removing some of its mass. C making it orbit faster. D. making it's surface reflect the sun's rays.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:
A. orbiting closer to the earths surface.

In fact, the gravitational force exerted by the Earth on the satellite is

`F=G (Mm)/(r^2)`
where
G is the gravitational constant
M is the Earth mass
m is the satellite mass
r is the distance of the satellite from the Earth's surface

We can see that, if the satellite orbits closer to the Earth's surface, its distance r from the centre of the planet decreases. But when r decreases, F (the gravitational force) increases, so A is the correct answer.