When an item has been launched into orbit, what happens?
1: It continues to fall but its path never reaches the ground.
2: Centripetal force from Earth's gravity keeps it from being accelerated toward Earth.
3: It no longer falls because the weakness of Earth's gravity with increased height has made it lighter than air.
4: It no longer falls because it is outside the atmosphere.
5: It is kept in orbit by attraction to the sun and moon.
#1 It must fall, because of gravity.
The correct answer is 1: It continues to fall, but its path never reaches the ground.
When an item is launched into orbit, it is mainly influenced by two forces: the force of gravity and the forward velocity it is given by the launch vehicle. Once the item is in orbit, it continues to fall towards the Earth due to the gravitational pull, but it is also moving forward with sufficient velocity to constantly miss the Earth's surface. This is known as free-fall, where the object is essentially in a projectile motion around the Earth.
Option 2 is not correct because centripetal force is not the force that keeps it from being accelerated towards the Earth, but rather the combination of gravity and velocity.
Option 3 is not correct because the weight of the object does not change as it moves higher in the atmosphere.
Option 4 is not correct because being outside the atmosphere does not prevent the object from falling towards the Earth due to gravity.
Option 5 is also not correct because the attraction to the sun and moon does have an effect on the orbit over very long durations, but it is primarily the Earth's gravity that keeps an object in orbit around the Earth.