Question

Consider two satellites A and B. Both move around the earth in the same orbit but the mass of B is twice that of the mass of A.

(a) Orbital speeds of A and B are equal

(b) The orbital speed of A is twice that of B

(c) The orbital speed of B is twice that of A

(d) The kinetic energy of both A and B are equal

This question was addressed to me by my school teacher while I was bunking the class.

This question is from Gravitation in section Gravitation of Physics – Class 11

Answer 1

Right choice is (a) Orbital speeds of A and B are equal

The explanation is: Since orbital velocities are independent of the mass of satellites and only depends on the radius of orbits, they are equal for both A and B.

The kinetic energy of a satellite depends on the mass of the satellite. Hence, it differs for satellite A and B.