Fig. 1 shows an engineer planning a probe orbit around an asteroid. The asteroid has an irregular shape and weak gravity. At point X, the probe's camera poi...
Question 1 Report
Fig. 1 shows an engineer planning a probe orbit around an asteroid. The asteroid has an irregular shape and weak gravity. At point X, the probe's camera points at a crater while its velocity is sideways. The engineer warns that an orbit that is too slow may allow the probe to fall onto the asteroid, whereas an orbit that is too fast may let it escape. The diagram is a simplified two-dimensional view.
(a) Name the force acting towards the asteroid. [1]
(b) Describe the direction of the probe's velocity at X relative to the gravitational force. [1]
(c) Explain why a probe moving too slowly may collide with the asteroid. [2]
(d) Give the change in the probe's kinetic energy if its speed is increased. [1]
(e) What does the dashed line represent? [1]
Answer Details
(a) The force towards the asteroid is gravitational force. [1]
(b) At X, the probe's velocity is perpendicular, at right angles, to the gravitational force. [1]
(c) A probe moving too slowly has insufficient sideways velocity. Gravity pulls it inward, and it can reach the asteroid's surface rather than continually falling around it. [2]
(d) If the probe's speed increases, its kinetic energy increases. [1]
(e) The dashed line represents the planned orbit or path of the probe. [1]
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