contestada

A rocket in orbit just above the atmosphere is moving in uniform circular motion. The radius of the circle in which it moves is 6.381 Ă— 106 m, and its centripetal acceleration is 9.8 m/s2 . What is the speed of the rocket?

Respuesta :

Centripetal acceleration is given by the formula

[tex]a_{cen}= \frac{v^2}{r} [/tex]

Since we know the value of the acceleration is 9.8 m/s² and we know r, we can solve for the speed, which is the magnitude of v.  Note the value of a is just the acceleration due to gravity, which is what makes the rocket orbit and not fly off into space.

[tex]9.8 \frac{m}{s^2}=\frac{v^2}{6.381 \times 10^6m} \\ \\ 9.8 \frac{m}{s^2} \times 6.381 \times 10^6m=v^2 \\ \\ v= \sqrt{9.8 \frac{m}{s^2} \times 6.381 \times 10^6m} =24755 \frac{m}{s} [/tex]