Help needed in centripetal question?

Question

A satellite takes 24 hours to travel round the earth in a circular path 72,000 km long. What is the speed of the satellite in #km h^-1# and what is the centripetal acceleration?

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Answer 1 · 2018-06-17T08:35:13

Please see the explanation below.

The period is #T=24h#

The circumference of the path is #C=72000km#

Let the radius of the path be #=r#

Then,

#C=2pir#

#r=C/(2pi)=72000/(2pi)=11459.2km#

The speed of the satellite is

#v=C/T=72000/24=3000kmh^-1#

The centripetal acceleration is

#a_n=v^2/r=(3000*1000/3600)^2/(11459*1000)#

#=0.06ms^-2#