EXPERIENCE 2

Orbital Motion
Centripetal, or center-directed, forces are required for orbital motion. An object in
orbital motion has linear velocity (v), angular velocity (𝜔), and centripetal acceleration
(𝑎c). It also has a period of orbit (T ), which is the time to complete one revolution.
Orbital motion is described by these formulas:

Period and Centripetal Acceleration

T = __ ___ a​ c​​​ = __
2
​​  C 2π ​​  ​vr​​   ​ ​​ = ​​ω​​  2​​r
v  ​​ = ​​  v   ​​ = ​​  ω   ​​      ​​
2πr
___

T = period v = velocity
C = circumference r = radius
𝜔 = angular velocity = _​​  vr ​​ ac = centripetal acceleration

When an object is orbiting a planet, such as when a satellite orbits Earth, the period
and velocity of the object depends on its distance from the planet’s surface.

Orbital Velocity

​  12 ​
_

v=( ​)
G​M​  ​​
​​​ ____
​  r  E    ​​​  ​​

v = orbital velocity
G = gravitational constant = 6.674 × ​​10​​  –11​​ m3/(kg ⋅ s2)
​​ME​  ​​​ = mass of Earth = 5.972 × ​​10​​  24​​ kg
r = radius of satellite orbit, measured from the center of Earth (m)

v1
Different Orbits  Satellites
v2
at different distances from
r1 Earth’s center travel at
different speeds. The speed
r2 decreases as the inverse of r1/2.

Orbital motion equations can be used to represent the motion of moons around
planets or other planets around the sun.

Apply Mathematical Concepts  According to the equation for orbital

velocity, does Mercury orbit the sun at a higher velocity than Jupiter
because Mercury is less massive, because it is closer to the sun, or for
both of these reasons?

Mercury orbits the sun at a higher velocity than Jupiter because Mercury is closer to the sun.

As the equation shows, orbital velocity does not depend on the mass of the orbiting object.
34  Investigation 3  Gravitational Forces
Mathematical Practices:
Make Use of Structure
Mathematically proficient students can use the fact that some quantities
may be represented by more than one equation in order to develop solution
strategies. Equations for the same quantity can be set equal to each other to
solve for an unknown.
Orbital velocity (v) may be represented by two equations. Setting these
equations equal to each other allows you to solve for the radius (𝑟) or the
period of the orbit (T ).
​  1 ​
_

v=( ​)
GM 2 ___
​​​ ____   ​​​  ​​ = ​​  2πr   ​​
​  r  E  T

Sample Problem
Europa is a moon orbiting Jupiter. Astronomers have determined that Europa
is approximately 617,000 km from Jupiter, which has a mass of 1.898 × 1027 kg.
What is the orbital period (in hours) of Europa around Jupiter?

Step 1 Identify knowns and unknowns

Knowns Unknown
G = gravitational constant T = period
= 6.67 × 10–11 Nm2 kg–2
MJ = mass of Jupiter
= 1.898 × 1027 kg
r = radius of orbit
= 617,000 km (or 6.17 × 108 m)

Step 2 Use the equations for orbital velocity to solve for T

​ __1 ​ ​  1 ​
__

( ​) (​  GM    
)
GM 2 ___ r3 ​ ​​​  2 ​​
​​​ ____   ​​​  ​​ = ​​  2πr   ​​, so . . . T = 2π​​​ ____
​  r  J  T J

Step 3 Solve
​  1 ​ 
__

( (6.67 × 10 Nm kg )(1.898 × 10 kg) )

​  1 ​ 
__

T = 2π​​​(____ )
8  3
(6.709 × 10 m)
r3   ​  ​​​  2 ​​ = 2π​​​ ​ _______________________________
2
​  GM    
    –11 2 –2 27  ​ ​​​  ​​
J

T = 306,871 seconds or 85.2 hours

Orbital Motion  35
3-Dimensional Review
1. DCI Earth and the Solar System  If Newton’s first law states that an object will
travel in a straight line unless impacted by an outside force, why do satellites orbit
Earth in a circular manner?

Gravitational force is constantly acting on satellites. Gravitational force from Earth is constantly

pulling the satellite toward our planet as it moves. The satellite moves forward and constantly falls

toward Earth but never reaches it. The gravitational force keeps the satellite moving in a circle.

2. SEP Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking

a. According to the orbital velocity equation, for a satellite to orbit at a higher

velocity, what must happen?
Satellites orbiting at a higher velocity must be a closer distance to Earth’s surface.

b. How is the period of a satellite related to its orbital velocity? What does
this mean?
The period of a satellite is inversely proportional to its velocity. This means that the

faster the satellites travel, the shorter the period will be.

c. Can you use the orbital velocity equation for other planets? Explain your answer.
The same equation can be applied but you must adjust for the mass of the planet that

you are considering.

3. CCC Scale, Proportion, and Quantity  Which satellite would have the farthest orbit?

a. a satellite above Jupiter in geosynchronous orbit

b. a satellite orbiting Jupiter once every 24 Earth hours

c. a GPS satellite above Jupiter orbiting once every 12 Earth hours

d. a satellite orbiting Jupiter once every 6 Earth hours

36  Investigation 3  Gravitational Forces

Skills Practice
4. NASA’s Aqua satellite orbits Earth every 99 minutes. Calculate how far above
Earth’s surface Aqua’s orbit must be.

7.20 × 105 m

5. The average weather satellite orbits Earth about once every 23.93 hours. Calculate
the radius of such an orbit.

3.57 × 107 m

6. A satellite needs to orbit Earth at a height of 380 km above Earth’s surface.

Calculate the orbital period of the satellite.

a. 4.62 × 103 s

b. 5.52 × 103 s

c. 8.18 × 104 s

d. 9.30 × 1014 s

Orbital Motion  37