In describing the physics involved in sending a satellite into orbit, two scientists express their opinions.

Scientist 1: Two important factors need to be considered when working with a satellite: its orbital radius  and its orbital speed . Orbital radius determines how far the satellite is from Earth, while orbital speed determines how quickly that satellite orbits Earth. A satellite's orbital speed depends on its orbital radius, the mass of the object being orbited (in this case, Earth), and the mass of the satellite. 

Scientist 2: Orbital radius of a satellite is not something that can be controlled by anything but orbital speed and the mass of the object being orbited. A satellite orbiting earth can only change its orbital radius by changing its orbital speed.

A company has plans to send a satellite into orbit that will collect solar radiation for scientific study. The day before launch, the company wants to add some heavy equipment to the satellite without changing their predictions for the satellites orbital radius or speed. What would the two scientists say in response to this last-minute change?

In describing the physics involved in sending a satellite into orbit, two scientists express their opinions.

Scientist 1: Two important factors need to be considered when working with a satellite: its orbital radius  and its orbital speed . Orbital radius determines how far the satellite is from Earth, while orbital speed determines how quickly that satellite orbits Earth. A satellite's orbital speed depends on its orbital radius, the mass of the object being orbited (in this case, Earth), and the mass of the satellite. 

Scientist 2: Orbital radius of a satellite is not something that can be controlled by anything but orbital speed and the mass of the object being orbited. A satellite orbiting earth can only change its orbital radius by changing its orbital speed.

Scientists have recently discovered two comets that orbit Earth at such similar distances that any alterations in their distances would cause them to eventually collide. The two comets differ in size: one is nearly one hundred times as massive as the other. Nevertheless, both comets have been observed to travel at nearly the same speed. Whose hypothesis does this information support?

Two scientists are interesting in studying the orbits of Jupiter's moons around Jupiter. Based on their own observations, the two scientists express their conclusions below:

Scientist 1: The moons of Jupiter vary greatly in size and mass and yet all have very different orbital radii (distances from Jupiter) which show no correlation with each moon's mass. This is likely attributed to the fact that while they have different masses, they are very small in comparison to the mass of Jupiter, so we can say that, relative to Jupiter's mass, the masses of Jupiter's moons are essentially equivalent. Jupiter's moons also vary greatly in the speed at which they orbit Jupiter. Unlike mass, this does correlate with orbital radius. A greater speed corresponds to a smaller orbital radius.  

Scientist 2: Orbital radius is a quantity that does not depend on the orbiting object's mass. Instead, it depends on the mass of the central object (Jupiter, in this case) and the speed of the orbiting object. If, for example, Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) were orbiting a planet of half the mass of Jupiter at the same speed, it would have half the orbital radius. On the other hand, if Europa were orbiting Jupiter and Europa suddenly doubled its rotational speed, its orbital radius would decrease by a factor of four.

Upon which of the following statements are both Scientist 1 and Scientist 2 most likely to agree?

Two scientists are interesting in studying the orbits of Jupiter's moons around Jupiter. Based on their own observations, the two scientists express their conclusions below:

Scientist 1: The moons of Jupiter vary greatly in size and mass and yet all have very different orbital radii (distances from Jupiter) which show no correlation with each moon's mass. This is likely attributed to the fact that while they have different masses, they are very small in comparison to the mass of Jupiter, so we can say that, relative to Jupiter's mass, the masses of Jupiter's moons are essentially equivalent. Jupiter's moons also vary greatly in the speed at which they orbit Jupiter. Unlike mass, this does correlate with orbital radius. A greater speed corresponds to a smaller orbital radius.  

Scientist 2: Orbital radius is a quantity that does not depend on the orbiting object's mass. Instead, it depends on the mass of the central object (Jupiter, in this case) and the speed of the orbiting object. If, for example, Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) were orbiting a planet of half the mass of Jupiter at the same speed, it would have half the orbital radius. On the other hand, if Europa were orbiting Jupiter and Europa suddenly doubled its rotational speed, its orbital radius would decrease by a factor of four.

Over which of the following statements are the two scientists most likely to disagree?

Two scientists are interesting in studying the orbits of Jupiter's moons around Jupiter. Based on their own observations, the two scientists express their conclusions below:

Scientist 1: The moons of Jupiter vary greatly in size and mass and yet all have very different orbital radii (distances from Jupiter) which show no correlation with each moon's mass. This is likely attributed to the fact that while they have different masses, they are very small in comparison to the mass of Jupiter, so we can say that, relative to Jupiter's mass, the masses of Jupiter's moons are essentially equivalent. Jupiter's moons also vary greatly in the speed at which they orbit Jupiter. Unlike mass, this does correlate with orbital radius. A greater speed corresponds to a smaller orbital radius.  

Scientist 2: Orbital radius is a quantity that does not depend on the orbiting object's mass. Instead, it depends on the mass of the central object (Jupiter, in this case) and the speed of the orbiting object. If, for example, Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) were orbiting a planet of half the mass of Jupiter at the same speed, it would have half the orbital radius. On the other hand, if Europa were orbiting Jupiter and Europa suddenly doubled its rotational speed, its orbital radius would decrease by a factor of four.

If Jupiter's mass were to suddenly decrease significantly, with which statement would Scientist 1 most likely agree and Scientist 2 most likely disagree?

Two scientists are interesting in studying the orbits of Jupiter's moons around Jupiter. Based on their own observations, the two scientists express their conclusions below:

Scientist 1: The moons of Jupiter vary greatly in size and mass and yet all have very different orbital radii (distances from Jupiter) which show no correlation with each moon's mass. This is likely attributed to the fact that while they have different masses, they are very small in comparison to the mass of Jupiter, so we can say that, relative to Jupiter's mass, the masses of Jupiter's moons are essentially equivalent. Jupiter's moons also vary greatly in the speed at which they orbit Jupiter. Unlike mass, this does correlate with orbital radius. A greater speed corresponds to a smaller orbital radius.  

Scientist 2: Orbital radius is a quantity that does not depend on the orbiting object's mass. Instead, it depends on the mass of the central object (Jupiter, in this case) and the speed of the orbiting object. If, for example, Europa (one of Jupiter's moons) were orbiting a planet of half the mass of Jupiter at the same speed, it would have half the orbital radius. On the other hand, if Europa were orbiting Jupiter and Europa suddenly doubled its rotational speed, its orbital radius would decrease by a factor of four.

According to Scientist 2, how can we best describe the relationship between an orbiting object's orbital speed and that object's orbital radius?

Two physics students are describing a concept called the orbital radius.

Student 1: Orbital radius is defined as the distance from an object in orbit to the object that is being orbited. For example, this would include the distance from a satellite orbiting Earth to the Earth. Several factors affect an orbiting object's orbital radius. The mass of the object compared to the object being orbited, the speed at which the orbiting object is moving, and the gravitational force pulling at the orbiting object.

Student 2: An orbital radius is the distance from an orbiting object's center to the center of the object being orbited. The only thing that affects an orbiting object's orbital radius is the object's speed. A faster orbiting object will have a lower orbital radius and vice versa. 

Jupiter has 67 moons orbiting it. When studying why these moons never collide, it is revealed that all 67 of jupiter's moons have different orbital radii. What would the students say about their speeds?

Two physics students are describing a concept called the orbital radius.

Student 1: Orbital radius is defined as the distance from an object in orbit to the object that is being orbited. For example, this would include the distance from a satellite orbiting Earth to the Earth. Several factors affect an orbiting object's orbital radius. The mass of the object compared to the object being orbited, the speed at which the orbiting object is moving, and the gravitational force pulling at the orbiting object.

Student 2: An orbital radius is the distance from an orbiting object's center to the center of the object being orbited. The only thing that affects an orbiting object's orbital radius is the object's speed. A faster orbiting object will have a lower orbital radius and vice versa. 

It is found that all 67 of Jupiter's moons have different masses and different orbital radii. How does this new information affect each student's claims?

Two physics students are describing a concept called the orbital radius.

Student 1: Orbital radius is defined as the distance from an object in orbit to the object that is being orbited. For example, this would include the distance from a satellite orbiting Earth to the Earth. Several factors affect an orbiting object's orbital radius. The mass of the object compared to the object being orbited, the speed at which the orbiting object is moving, and the gravitational force pulling at the orbiting object.

Student 2: An orbital radius is the distance from an orbiting object's center to the center of the object being orbited. The only thing that affects an orbiting object's orbital radius is the object's speed. A faster orbiting object will have a lower orbital radius and vice versa. 

Two satellites, one very small and one very large, are in orbit around the Earth in what is called geostationary orbit. Geostationary orbit is a precise distance from the Earth where many commercial satelites are sent. The two satellites are found to have the exact same orbital speed. How does this new information affect the students' claims?

Glaciers move, on average, 1 meter per day, although many are known to move faster or slower depending on their size. Whether they are alpine glaciers, which form high in the mountains, or continental glaciers that cover huge areas of land near the poles, glaciers are responsible for breaking up rock and moving sediment as they move across the land. 

Below is a chart of average speed of movement of an alpine glacier per year, as well the amount of sediment displaced by the glacier. 

Two scientists have done research on an alpine lake that lies in the path of the glacier. Each took five samples of sediment from the lake.

Scientist 1 believes that the glacier is beginning to melt as it moves lower in elevation, releasing some of the sediment it has carried into mountain streams and springs, causing the makeup of sediments in the lake to change. He notes that the sediment from the lake bed contains brown chert, a rock that can only be found in elevations higher than that of the lake. Scientist 1 took his sample from the sediments that washed ashore on the beach of the lake.

Scientist 2 believes the glacier is not melting, but displacing rock beds so that the sediment loosens and breaks free of the bedrock and then is carried by wind and other erosive elements to the lake. He notes that the sediment from the lake bed contains only trace amounts of the brown chert, not enough to suggest the glacier is melting. Scientist 2 took his samples from sediment deposits at the bottom of the lake. 

Below is a chart of the sediment collection samples and the percentage of brown chert found in each.

Which of the following findings would most closely resemble the hypothesis of scientist 1?