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Given that the moon orbits Earth each 27.3 days and that it is an average distance of 3.84 × 10 8 m 3.84 × 10 8 m from the center of Earth, calculate the period of an artificial satellite orbiting at an average altitude of 1,500 km above Earth’s surface.
Describe motion in different reference frames. Define distance and displacement, and distinguish between the two. Solve problems involving distance and displacement. Section Key Terms. Defining Motion. Our study of physics opens with kinematics —the study of motion without considering its causes. Objects are in motion everywhere you look.
For example, the distance between Chicago and San Francisco is about 2,100 miles (about 3,400 km). As we discussed in Chapter 1, the distances involved in astronomy are so large that special distance units are often used for convenience. For example, Earth is about 150 million km from the Sun (93 million miles).
Distance is a scalar measure of the interval between two locations measured along the actual path connecting them. Displacement is a vector measure of the interval between two locations measured along the shortest path connecting them. How far does the Earth travel in one year?
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted c, is a universal physical constant that is exactly equal to 299,792,458 metres per second (approximately 300,000 kilometres per second; 186,000 miles per second; 671 million miles per hour).
Distances between the Earth and other stars and galaxies are measured in light years (ly). Remember a light year is a unit of distance, not a unit of time.
Determine the force of gravitational attraction between the earth (m = 5.98 x 10 24 kg) and a 70-kg physics student if the student is standing at sea level, a distance of 6.38 x 10 6 m from earth's center.
