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As the orbital radius increases, the period _______.

A. Increases
B. Decreases
C. Remains constant
D. Becomes unpredictable

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The period of an object in orbit increases as the orbital radius increases, in accordance with Kepler's third law of planetary motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

As the orbital radius increases, the period of an object in orbit also increases. This is because the period of an orbit is the time it takes for an object to make one complete revolution around another object, and this time is correlated with the distance the object needs to cover. In accordance with Kepler's third law of planetary motion, the square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit. Therefore, as the orbital radius (semi-major axis) increases, the time (period) it takes to complete an orbit also increases.

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