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13.4 Exercise 2

Avg difficulty 2.5

There is another consideration to this last calculation of MEM_{\text{E}}. We derived the equation assuming that the satellite orbits around the center of the astronomical body at the same radius used in the expression for the gravitational force between them. What assumption is made to justify this? Earth is about 81 times more massive than the Moon. Does the Moon orbit about the exact center of Earth?

OpenStax University Physics Volume 1, 13.4 Satellite Orbits and Energy, exercise 2

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Adapted from University Physics Volume 1 © 2016 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: University Physics Volume 1. Imported at revision db44eb9.