A satellite has a mass of 91 kg and is located at 2.1 106 m above the surface of

Question

A satellite has a mass of 91 kg and is located at 2.1 106 m above the surface of Earth.
(a) What is the potential energy associated with the satellite at this location? in J.

(b) What is the magnitude of the gravitational force on the satellite? in N

For (a), I used GPE= GMm/(R+h) and got 4280283726 J, but the answer is wrong, and I don't know what is wrong.

For (b), I used F= GMm/(R+h)^2, and got 8216.95 N, but again, the answer is wrong.

Can you please show me if I am using the wrong formula or maybe I am inputting them into the calculator wrong.

Explanation / Answer

a) GPE = GMm / (R+h) = 5.97 * 10^24 * 91 * 6.67 * 10^-11 / (8.5 * 10^6) = 4.26 * 10^9 J b) F = GMm / (R+h)^2 = 5.97 * 10^24 * 91 * 6.67 * 10^-11 / (8.5 * 10^6)^2 = 501.54 N

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