Satellite A with a mass of 615 kg is in orbit around the Earth 5.1 State Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. 5.2 The Earth exerts a force of 5000 N on satellite A to keep it in orbit, calculate the height, in kilometres, of the satellite above the surface of the Earth.
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Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation states that every point mass attracts every other point mass in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. The formula for this law can be written as \( F = G \frac{{m_1 m_2}}{{r^2}} \), where \( F \) is the gravitational force between the two masses, \( G \) is the gravitational constant, and \( r \) is the distance between the centers of the two masses. To calculate the height of satellite A above Earth's surface, we can rearrange the gravitational force formula to find the distance \( r \). The force exerted (5000 N) equals the gravitational force between the Earth and the satellite. Using Earth's mass \( (m_E \approx 5.97 \times 10^{24} \text{ kg}) \) and \( G \approx 6.67 \times 10^{-11} \text{ N m}^2/\text{kg}^2 \), we first find \( r \): \[ 5000 = \frac{(6.67 \times 10^{-11}) (615)(5.97 \times 10^{24})}{r^2} \] Solving for \( r \), we find \( r \approx 7174 \text{ km} \) (this is the distance from the center of the Earth to the satellite). Subtract the average Earth radius (approximately 6371 km) to get the height above the surface: \[ \text{Height} = 7174 - 6371 = 803 \text{ km} \] So, the satellite is approximately 803 km above the Earth's surface.