Question

A planet’s moon revolves around the planet with a period of 37 Earth days in an approximately circular orbit of radius of 4.9×10^8 m. How fast does the moon move?

a) 3.4 x 10^4 m/s
b) 4.8 x 10^3 m/s
c) 2.2 x 10^3 m/s
d) 5.7 x 10^4 m/s

Answer 1

The moon moves at a speed of approximately 2.2 x 10^3 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how fast the moon moves, we can use the formula for the velocity of an object in circular motion. The velocity is given by the equation v = 2πr/T, where v is the velocity, r is the radius of the orbit, and T is the period of revolution. Plugging in the values, we get v = 2π(4.9×10^8)/(37x24x60x60), which simplifies to v = 2.2 x 10^3 m/s.Therefore, the moon moves at a speed of approximately 2.2 x 10^3 m/s.