An artificial satellite is moving in a circular orbit around the Earth. The height of the satellite above the surface of Earth is R . Suppose the satellite is stopped suddenly in its orbit and allowed to fall freely. On reaching Earth, its speed will be

Question

An artificial satellite is moving in a circular orbit around the Earth. The height of the satellite above the surface of Earth is R . Suppose the satellite is stopped suddenly in its orbit and allowed to fall freely. On reaching Earth, its speed will be, gR, 2 gR, 3 gR, 5 gR

MARKS App · Accepted Answer

Using conservation of energy, 1 2 mv 2 - GMm R = 0 - GMm 2 R 1 2 mv 2 = GMm R - GMm 2 R v 2 = 2 GM R 1 - 1 2 v 2 = GM R But gR 2 = GM ∴ v = gR 2 R v = gR

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