1.The moon orbits 384400km above the surface of the earth. a).What is the moon velocity ? b).At this velocity, how long does it take the moon to orbit the earth? c).What is the strength of the earth gravitational force at this orbital distance?
1 Answer
Given that
-
the height of moon's orbit from earth
#h=384400km# -
radius of earth
#R_e=6371km# -
so radius of moon's orbit
#R_o=R_e+h=390771*10^3m#
By Newton's law of gravitation the force of gravitational pull on moon is given by
Where
-
#M-># mass of earth -
#m-># mass of moon -
#G-># Gravitational constant.
If the uniform orbital angular velocity of moon is represented by
Where
(a) So orbital velocity of moon
(b) Now time period of rotation of moon will be
(c)The strength of the earth gravitational force at this orbital distance will be represented by the acceleration due to gravity