Question

According to Newton’s cannonball model, what happens if the cannonball's velocity is enough to overpower the pull of Earth’s gravity? A) The cannonball will have an elliptical orbit. B) The cannonball will crash into Earth. C) The cannonball will have a circular orbit. D) The cannonball will break orbit and go off into space.

Answer 1

If the cannonball's velocity is above the escape velocity of Earth, which is 11 kilometers per second, it will break free from Earth's gravity and go into space.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Newton's cannonball model, if the cannonball's velocity is enough to overpower the pull of Earth's gravity, it will achieve a state where Earth's surface curves away at the same rate as the cannonball falls toward it. This condition implies that the cannonball would break orbit and go off into space. In Newton's hypothetical experiment, when an object reaches a velocity greater than the escape velocity of 11 kilometers per second, it would not be bound by Earth's gravity anymore and would travel outward into space, indicating that the appropriate answer to the question is D) The cannonball will break orbit and go off into space.

Answer 2

If the cannonball's velocity is sufficient to overpower Earth's gravity, it will break orbit and travel into space, as this velocity exceeds the escape velocity needed to leave Earth's gravitational influence.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Newton’s cannonball model, if the cannonball's velocity is enough to overpower the pull of Earth’s gravity, the outcome will be that the cannonball will break orbit and go off into space. The cannonball model by Newton shows that at a certain velocity, known as the escape velocity, a projectile would not follow a curved path that brings it back to Earth or keeps it in a circular orbit but would instead leave Earth entirely. This escape velocity on Earth is approximately 11 kilometers per second. When an object like a satellite has the exact needed velocity, it will fall around Earth continuously without hitting the surface, which constitutes an orbit. However, a speed greater than this will cause the object to escape Earth’s gravitational pull completely.