Q17. Physics Word Problem

User Generated

Oynpxb

Science

Description

Calculate the average speed of the Moon around the Earth. The Moon has a period of revolution of 27.3 days and an average distance from the Earth of 3.84 × 108 m.

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Explanation & Answer

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Assume the moon orbits the earth in a circle. If the "average distance" given is between the center of the earth and the center of the moon, then the radius of that circle is 3.84 x 10^8 m. Since circumference is 2πR, that's 2π (3.84 x 10^8 m) = 2.41 x 10^9 m per orbit.

This orbit takes a total of 27.3 days. Since each day has 86,400 seconds, that's (27.3 days) (86,400 s/day) = 2,358,720 seconds.

So the average speed is distance / time, or (2.41 x 10^9 m) / (2358720 s) = 1020 m/s

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