The discussion revolves around calculating the speed of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun, given a radius of 148 million km. Participants are exploring the necessary formulas and concepts related to orbital mechanics.
Some participants have suggested specific formulas and approaches, while others are seeking clarification on the time it takes for the Earth to complete its orbit and the distance traveled. Multiple interpretations of the problem are being explored without a clear consensus.
There are references to approximating the orbit as circular and the need for unit conversions. The period of the Earth's orbit is noted as 365 days, which is being converted into seconds for calculations.
Dragoon said:The Earth has an orbit of radius 148 million km around the sun. What is the speed of the Earth on this orbit?
dont know how to do it i have used a couple of different formulas and haven't gotten it right can anyone help?
Period T = 365 days = ... seconds.NateTG said:How long does the Earth take to make an orbit around the sun?
What distance does the Earth travel in an orbit?
(Since the problem tells you that the orbit has a radius you can probably safely approximate the orbit with a circle of the appropriate radius.)
Then you can find speed using s=\frac{d}{t} although you might want to do some unit conversion.