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A satellite that is in a circular orbit 230 km above the surface of the planet Zeeman-474 has an orbital period of 89 min. The radius of Zeeman-474 is 6.38 × 10⁶ m. What is the mass of this planet? (G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N ∙ m²/kg²)

User Flygoast
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Final answer:

By applying Kepler's Third Law to the given satellite orbit details, such as its altitude and period, we can calculate the mass of planet Zeeman-474.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the mass of planet Zeeman-474, we can use Kepler's Third Law and the provided values: A satellite is in a circular orbit 230 km (or 230,000 m) above the surface of Zeeman-474, the orbital period is 89 minutes (or 5340 seconds), the radius of Zeeman-474 is 6.38 × 10⁶ m, and the gravitational constant is 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N ⋅ m²/kg².

The total radius of the orbit r is the radius of Zeeman-474 plus the altitude of the satellite:

r = 6.38 × 10⁶ m + 230,000 m = 6.61 × 10⁶ m

Using the circular orbit version of Kepler's Third Law, we calculate the mass (M) of the planet:

M = ⅔ ∙ (⅔ ∙ r³) / (G ∙ T²)

Where T is the orbital period of the satellite and G is the gravitational constant.

Substituting the given values:

M = ⅔ ∙ (⅔ ∙ (6.61 × 10⁶ m)³) / (6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N⋅m²/kg² ∙ 5340 s²)

This calculation gives us the mass of Zeeman-474, which we can calculate using a calculator or appropriate software.

User Gtaborga
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