Determine the Altitude of a Satellite above Earth Given it's Constant Speed

AI Thread Summary
To determine the altitude of a satellite in a circular orbit with a speed of 8.2 x 10^3 m/s, the gravitational force equation is applied, leading to the formula r = GM/v^2. The calculation yields a radius of approximately 5,931,975 meters, which is incorrect when compared to Earth's radius of 6.38 x 10^6 m, resulting in a negative value. This indicates a potential error in the calculations or conversions. An alternative approach using μ = G*M suggests a different altitude calculation, resulting in 5,948 km. Clarification on the calculations and methods is sought to resolve the discrepancy.
PhysicsJunkie
Messages
12
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



A remote-sensing satellite travels in a circular orbit at a constant speed of 8.2 x 10^3 m/s. Determing the altitude in kilometres of the satellite above Earth's surface.

Homework Equations



Fc = FG

The Attempt at a Solution



mv^2/r = GMm/r^2
v^2 = GM/r
r = GM/v^2
r = (6.67 x 10^-11 * 5.98 x 10^24)/(8.2 x 10^3)^2
r = 5931975 m - radius of Earth (6.38 x 10^6 m)
r = NEGATIVE NUMBER

Why am I getting a negative number? Is there a mistake in my conversions or am I completely off as to how to solve this? Any help will be greatly appreciated. :)
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Using μ = G*M ≈ 400,000 (if you keep things in km), I get V2= 400,000/(8.2)2 = 5948 km.

Maybe it's a fast Earth worm?
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top