Question abt Space??? (1 Viewer)

[ToRnaDo]

Im stuck with the dot point: "Compare qualitatively low Earth and geo-stationary orbits" and " Account for the orbital decay of satellites in low Earth orbit"

Could somebody pls help me???

p/s: With the new Syllabus: Do i need to know abt Van Allen Radiation Belts??? If yes..please help me with it as well. I have no idea

Thank a lot!!!!
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Im dying with Physics :mad1:

 

[ND]

"Compare qualitatively low Earth and geo-stationary orbits"

Basically, low earth orbits have a greater orbital velocity, and a shorter period, where geostationary oribits have a period of 24hrs and travel slower (note: this is nowhere near a sufficient answer for an exam, just an outline).

Account for the orbital decay of satellites in low Earth orbit

The lower the altitude, the denser the atmosphere. So when a sat reaches low alts, it experiences friction with the air which causes it to slow down and lose alt, causing it to enter a denser region causing it to slow down, causing it to ..... etc.

edit: yes, you need to know about van-allen belts. i'm not sure whether there is a dot point which specifically addresses them, but you need to discuss them in the 'communication difficulties' one.

 

[yurbel]

I have the tracked 2003 syllabus and they specifically cross out anything to do with communication issues and Van Allen belts. Unless you have a syllabus I don't, I'm pretty sure that's not in.

 

[ND]

Really? i've gotta update my notes.

 

[+:: $i[Q]u3 ::+]

when you compare low earth and geostationary orbits, it's always a good idea to chuck in a couple of quantitative details; it looks good, and it'll give you something to work off.
You should essentially talk about:
1. the period of orbit
2. altitude at which the satellite orbits
3. uses of each type of orbit

 

[countrydude]

qualitatively, quantitative whats the diffrence? sorry i get stuck on this all of the time.
thanx

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by countrydude
qualitatively, quantitative whats the diffrence? sorry i get stuck on this all of the time.
thanx

Qualitative - you use adjectives to describe something, e.g. "Geostationary satellites have a much larger orbital radius than low Earth orbit satellites".

Quantitative - you use actual figures, e.g. "Geostationary satellites orbit at an altitude of approximately 36 000km"

 

[ToRnaDo]

Thank u guys a lot!!!