Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

In the statements below, TE is the total mechanical energy, KE is the kinetic en

ID: 1463028 • Letter: I

Question

In the statements below, TE is the total mechanical energy, KE is the kinetic energy, and PE is the potential energy.

greater than /less than /equal to  The TE of Y is .... the TE of X
greater than /less than /equal to  The PE of Y at i is .... that at r
greater than /less than /equal to  The PE of X at c is .... the PE of Z at i
greater than /less than /equal to  The TE of X is .... the TE of Z
greater than /less than /equal to  The PE of Y at u is .... the PE of X at c
greater than /less than /equal to  The PE of Y at i is .... the PE of Z at i
greater than /less than /equal to  The speed of Y at a is .... that at r
greater than /less than /equal to  The KE of Z at i is .... that at m

Explanation / Answer

You can think of X and Y as projectiles launched from the orbit of Z. The source gives another way of seeing the problem : the specific orbital energy is inversely proportional to the major axis of the orbit.

1. The The TE of Y is GREATER than the TE of X (TE is constant; Y reaches a greater "height")

2.  The PE of Y at i is LESS that at r (see i)

3. The PE of X at c is LESS the PE of Z at i

4. The TE of X is GREATER than the TE of Z (X reaches a greater height from the planet)

5.  The PE of Y at u is GREATER THAN the PE of X at c (PE increases with distance [=height] from attractive body.)

6.  The PE of Y at i is LESS the PE of Z at i

7. The speed of Y at a is THE SAME that at r  (same mass, same distance from planet

8. The KE of Z at i is THE SAME that at m  (constant TE, same PE, therefore same KE)