Many people assume air resistance acting on a moving object will always make the object slow down. It can, however, actually be responsible for making the object speed up. Consider a 180-kg Earth satellite in a circular orbit at an altitude of 205 km. A small force of air resistance makes the satellite drop into a circular orbit with an altitude of 80 km. (Use the following values: G = 6.67 10-11 m3 kg−1 s−2, mass of the Earth 5.98 1024 kg, radius of the Earth 6.37 106 m.)

Many people assume air resistance acting on a moving object will always make the object slow down. It can, however, actually be responsible for making the object speed up. Consider a 180-kg Earth satellite in a circular orbit at an altitude of 205 km. A small force of air resistance makes the satellite drop into a circular orbit with an altitude of 80 km. (Use the following values: G = 6.67 10-11 m3 kg−1 s−2, mass of the Earth 5.98 1024 kg, radius of the Earth 6.37 106 m.)

(a) Calculate the satellite's initial speed.  m/s

(b) Calculate its final speed in this process.  m/s

a)

b)

Explanation:

Given that;

The Earth satellite = 180-kg

altitude (radius r ) = 205 km

After the satellite drop into a circular orbit; the final altitude (r) = 80 km

G =

mass of the earth =

radius of the earth =

The original speed for both circular orbit is given as:

(a) Calculate the satellite's initial speed m/s

v = 7729.88

v =

b) Calculate its final speed in this process m/s

v =7804.42

answer: good job it's all correct !

explanation: