Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Paper Three: Q6 (e)

When the satellite lose speed due to friction we need to take into account total energy ie. KE +PE formula. The reduction in total energy will lead to reduction in r , hence the satellite will orbit closer to earth accompanied by increase in speed.Only if this loss of energy continue will it eventually fall back to Earth. So any answer saying the satellite will fall and crash into the Earth does not warrant any mark.