Question

Enrique is given information about a satellite orbiting earth. r = 3.8 × 108 m t = 18 days in order to calculate the tangential speed of the satellite, what should enrique do first?

Answer 1

To find the tangential speed of the satellite, first calculate the orbit's circumference using the orbital radius, then convert the period from days to seconds and use the formula v = C/t.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the tangential speed of the satellite, Enrique should first determine the circumference of the satellite's orbit using the provided orbital radius (r). The formula for circumference (C) is C = 2πr. With the radius r = 3.8 × 108 m, he can plug this value into the formula. After finding the circumference, he should convert the period t from days to seconds to use consistent units. Since the satellite completes one orbit in t = 18 days, Enrique can calculate the tangential speed (v) by dividing the circumference by the period (expressed in seconds), using the formula v = C/t. Remember that there are 86400 seconds in a day.

Answer 2

Tangential speed, just as any other speed, is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the time or duration. From the given above, the very first thing that needs to be done is to calculate for the circumference through the equation,
C = 2πr
Substituting,
C = 2π(3.8 x 10⁸) = 2.388 x 10⁹ m
Then, divide this value by the time, 18 days,
rate = 1.326 x 10⁷ m/days