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Unit 3: Gravity and Electromagnetism
Quick questions on Satellite and orbital motion: WACE Year 12 Physics Unit 3
2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is gravity supplies the centripetal force?Show answer
For a satellite of mass orbiting a body of mass at radius , the gravitational force is the centripetal force:
What are geostationary satellites?Show answer
A geostationary satellite stays above a fixed point on the equator, so its period equals one sidereal day (about hours) and it orbits west to east. Putting and into Kepler's law gives an orbital radius of about , roughly above the surface. These orbits are used for communications and weather satellites because the antenna can point at one spot in the sky.
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