Question

A satellite is in low earth orbit at an altitude of 1300 km above the surface of the earth. It completes one full orbit every 112 min. What is the linear speed of the satellite, to the nearest whole km/min? Use 6370 km as the radius of the earth.

Answer 1

altitude of 1300 km
the radius of the earth is 6370
So the distance from the very center of the earth to the satellite is 1300+6370
now the orbit travel what distance, the circumference of this circle, so
\[2*\pi(1300+6370)\] is the total distance traveled per orbit, we are given it takes 112 min for every orbit.
Distance/time is velocity (or linear speed in this scenario)

Answer 2

\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{Originally Posted by}}\) @darkknight
altitude of 1300 km
the radius of the earth is 6370
So the distance from the very center of the earth to the satellite is 1300+6370
now the orbit travel what distance, the circumference of this circle, so
\[2*\pi(1300+6370)\] is the total distance traveled per orbit, we are given it takes 112 min for every orbit.
Distance/time is velocity (or linear speed in this scenario)
\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{End of Quote}}\)
good job !