How much work is done by the gravitational force of earth acting on a satellite moving around it in a circular path? Give reason for your answer.
Answers
The gravitational acceleration that the Moon experience due to the gravitational attraction from the Earth is given by:
ag=G(MEarth+MMoon)/r2
Where G is the gravitational constant, M stands for mass, and r is the radius of the orbit. The centripetal acceleration is given by:
acentr=(4 pi2 r)/T2
Where T is the period. Since the two accelerations have to be equal, we obtain:
(4 pi2 r) /T2=G(MEarth+MMoon)/r2
Which implies:
r3/T2=G(MEarth+MMoon)/4 pi2=const.
This is the so-called third Kepler law, that states that the cube of the radius of the orbit is proportional to the square of the period.
This has interesting applications. In the Solar System, for example, if you know the period and the radius of one planet orbit, by knowing another planet's period you can determine its orbit radius.