A satellite in earth orbit experiences a small drag force as it enters the earth's atmosphere. Two students were asked consequence of this : Student-A : The satellite would slow down as, it spira

Question

A satellite in earth orbit experiences a small drag force as it enters the earth's atmosphere. Two students were asked consequence of this :

Student-A : The satellite would slow down as, it spirals towards earth due to work of frictional force.

Student-B : The satellite speed up due to earths gravitational pull as it spirals towards earth.

[3]

TestHub · Accepted Answer

As drag removes energy, the orbit radius slowly decreases. For a near-circular orbit, $v = \frac{GM}{r}$ , so the satellite actually speeds up as it spirals inward (the gravitational potential energy released exceeds the kinetic energy gained).

So student-B is correct and student-A is wrong.

Ans (B)

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