Exam 4: Gravity and Orbits

The International Space Station orbits at an altitude of 400 km above Earth's surface.Assuming it is in a stable circular orbit, what is its velocity? For reference, Earth's radius is 6,400 km, and Earth's mass is 6 *10²⁴ kg and G = 6.7 * 10^?2-11 N m²/kg².

Suppose you are suddenly transported to a planet with 1/4 the mass of Earth but the same radius as Earth.Your weight would ________ by a factor of ________.

Assume that a planet just like Earth orbits the bright star named Sirius.If this Earth-like planet orbits with a semimajor axis of 1 AU and an orbital period of 7 months, what is the mass of Sirius?

In a circular orbit, the force of gravity provides a/an

How would the acceleration due to gravity on a planet that is 16 times as massive as Earth and 4 times its radius compare to the acceleration of gravity on Earth?

Is there a difference in your weight when measured on top of a mountain 1,000 meters above sea level and when measured in a classroom 10 meters above sea level?

The force of gravity between Earth and the Sun is approximately ________ the force of gravity between Earth and the Moon.For reference, the average distance between Earth and the Moon is 0.003 astronomical unit (AU), the mass of the Moon is 7 * 10²² kg, and the mass of the Sun is 2 * 10³⁰ kg.

According to the figure below, spring tides occur at which phases of the Moon?

If you found an exoplanet whose mass was the same as Jupiter's, but the planet orbited its star with a period of 2 years and a semimajor axis of 1 AU, what would be the mass of its star? For reference, Jupiter has a semimajor axis of 5.4 AU and an orbital period of 12 years.

If the distance between Earth and the Sun were cut in half, the gravitational force between these two objects would

You find a moon orbiting a planet.The moon has a period of 10 days, and the average distance between the moon and planet is 10⁶ km.What is the planet's mass? Note that the mass of Jupiter is 1.9 * 10²⁷ kg.

How much stronger is the gravitational force of the Sun on Earth compared to the gravitational force of the Sun on Pluto? Note that Pluto's semimajor axis is 40 AU, and Pluto's mass is 0.002 times the mass of Earth.

Lunar tides are approximately ________ solar tides.

Tidal forces can affect

What two pieces of information would you need to obtain about one of the moons of the planet Jupiter in order to measure the mass of Jupiter? What formulae would you use to determine the mass?

When two galaxies collide long streams of stars can be observed.These "tails" are caused by

Do tidal forces only affect the water on Earth?

________ may have been instrumental in shaping daily interactions between Earth's land and oceans, where the chemistry needed to develop life may have occurred.

Show that the tidal force on Earth from the Moon is approximately two times the tidal force on Earth from the Sun.For reference, the Moon's mass is 7.3 *10²² kg, the Sun's mass is 2 * 10³⁰ kg, the Earth-Moon distance is 3.8 * 10⁵ km, and the Earth-Sun distance is 1.5*10⁸ km.

Explain the difference between a bound orbit and an unbound orbit.