Which factor is not needed when calculating the velocity of a satellite orbiting a planet?
The mass of the planet
The universal gravitational constant
The orbital radius of the satellite
The mass of the satellite
The universal gravitational constant is not needed when calculating the velocity of a satellite orbiting a planet.
The factor that is not needed when calculating the velocity of a satellite orbiting a planet is the mass of the satellite. The mass of the satellite does not affect the velocity of the satellite in its orbit.
The factor that is not needed when calculating the velocity of a satellite orbiting a planet is the mass of the satellite.
To calculate the velocity of a satellite in orbit, we can use the equation for gravitational force:
F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2
Where:
F is the gravitational force between the planet and the satellite,
G is the universal gravitational constant,
m1 is the mass of the planet,
m2 is the mass of the satellite,
and r is the orbital radius of the satellite.
The equation for the gravitational force also relates to the centripetal force, which is required to keep the satellite in orbit:
F = (m2 * v^2) / r
Where:
v is the velocity of the satellite.
By equating the two equations for force, we have:
G * (m1 * m2) / r^2 = (m2 * v^2) / r
We can rearrange this equation to solve for velocity:
v^2 = (G * m1) / r
Taking the square root of both sides, we find:
v = √[(G * m1) / r]
From this equation, we can see that to calculate the velocity of a satellite in orbit, we need the mass of the planet (m1), the universal gravitational constant (G), and the orbital radius of the satellite (r). The mass of the satellite (m2) is not necessary to find the velocity.