Man-made satellites can orbit the Earth
The satellite experiences a resultant force directed towards the centre of the orbit.
The resultant force is called the centripetal force.
2 (a) What provides the centripetal force on the satellite?
(1 mark)
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2 (b) State two factors that determine the size of the centripetal force on the satellite.
(2 marks)
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2 (c) Here are data for five different satellites orbiting the Earth:
2 (c) (i) State the relationship, if any, between the height of the satellite above the Earth’s surface and the time taken for the satellite to orbit the Earth once.
(1 mark)
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2 (c) (ii) State the relationship, if any, between the time taken for the satellite to orbit the Earth once and the satellite’s mass.
(1 mark)
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2 (d) Over 300 years ago, the famous scientist Isaac Newton proposed, with a ‘thought experiment’, the idea of satellites.
Newton suggested that if an object was fired at the right speed from the top of a high mountain, it would circle the Earth.
Why did many people accept Isaac Newton’s idea as being possible?
Tick one statement:
Isaac Newton was a respected scientist who had made new discoveries before.
Isaac Newton went to university.
It was a new idea that nobody else had thought of before.
(1 mark)
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From Q2 P3 AQA June 2014 (Higher)