Question

A satellite is orbiting around a planet in a circular orbit. The radius of the orbit, measured from the center of the planet is r = 2.1 × 10⁷ m. The mass of the planet is m = 5.2 × 10²⁴ kg. What is the gravitational force between the satellite and the planet?

Answer 1

The gravitational force between the satellite and the planet can be calculated using Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation by substituting the known values of the planet's mass and the radius of the satellite's orbit.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the gravitational force between the satellite and the planet, we use Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation: F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where F is the gravitational force, G is the gravitational constant (6.674×10^-11 N·m^2/kg^2), m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects, and r is the distance between their centers. Given the mass of the planet (m = 5.2 × 10^24 kg) and the radius of the orbit (r = 2.1 × 10^7 m), we substitute these values into the equation to find the force.