Question

The length of time a satellite takes to orbit the earth depends on its:

• A. launch speed
• B. mass
• C. distance from the earth
• D. weight
• E. orbital direction

Answer 1

The correct option is C distance from the earth

The length of time $T$ taken by a satellite is given by ,

$T=2\pi /R\sqrt{\frac{{(R+h)}^3}{g}}$

where $R=$ radius of earth , $h=$ distance of satellite from earth,

it is clear from above relation that length of time $T$ depends only upon $h$ (distance of satellite from earth) .It does not depend upon mass,weight or orbital direction.