Orbital Speed Practice
IGCSE Edexcel Physics
8.6 Orbital Speed
Key Concepts:
Orbital speed: $v = 2\pi r / T$.
Section A: Calculations
1. A satellite has $r = 7.5 \times 10^6\,m$ and $T = 5800\,s$. Calculate orbital speed.
[2]
2. A satellite has $r = 4.2 \times 10^7\,m$ and $T = 86400\,s$. Calculate orbital speed.
[2]
Total marks: 4
Mark Scheme
1.
$v = 2\pi r/T \approx 2\pi(7.5 \times 10^6)/5800 = 8.1 \times 10^3\,m/s$ [2]
2.
$v = 2\pi r/T \approx 2\pi(4.2 \times 10^7)/86400 = 3.1 \times 10^3\,m/s$ [2]