Skip to content

Course home

Fields and their consequences (A-level only)

Fields and their consequences (A-level only)

EasyMediumHard
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182
Question 165

An unpowered automated spacecraft of mass 4.2×103 kg4.2 \times 10^3 \text{ kg}4.2×103 kg is performing a flyby of a recently discovered rogue exoplanet named Zephyr-9. As the spacecraft descends deeper into the gravitational field of Zephyr-9, its speed increases.

The table below provides the distance of the spacecraft from the centre of mass of Zephyr-9 and its speed at two different tracking positions, AAA and BBB:

PositionDistance from centre of mass / m\text{m}mSpeed / m s−1\text{m s}^{-1}m s−1
AAA6.4×1066.4 \times 10^66.4×1062.4×1032.4 \times 10^32.4×103
BBB4.0×1054.0 \times 10^54.0×1053.6×1033.6 \times 10^33.6×103

Assuming Zephyr-9 is spherical and isolated, calculate the mass of Zephyr-9.

Use G=6.67×10−11 N m2 kg−2G = 6.67 \times 10^{-11} \text{ N m}^2 \text{ kg}^{-2}G=6.67×10−11 N m2 kg−2.

[4]
Markscheme

Fields and their consequences (A-level only) Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Physics
  3. /Fields and their consequences (A-level only)

Question bank