Gravitational Potential
 

Gravitational Potential problem 8


TESS is a satellite of mass in a circular orbit about the Earth as shown in




The radius of the Earth is and the mass of the Earth, considered to be a point mass at its centre, is .


  • It takes TESS 13.7 days to orbit the Earth. Show that the radius of orbit of TESS is .


  • Calculate the change in gravitational potential energy between TESS in orbit and TESS on a launch pad on the surface of the Earth.



 

main author and content editor: Noble Menedi Firima