A satellite orbiting at an elevation of 3200 km does what

a) Stays beyond the earth's gravity, which is why it stays up there.

B) in an elliptical orbit, since its speed is less than the escape velocity.

C) Falling toward earth with an acceleration equal to g.

D) Falling toward earth with an acceleration less than g.

Try to think this through yourself.

The satellite is certainly not out of the range of the earth's gravity (A) is wrong.

The orbit is circular if the altitude remains 3200 km. (B) is therefore wrong.

The satellite experiences an acceleration less than g = 9.8 m/s^2 because it is farther from the center of the Earth than it would be at zero altitude. (C) is therefore wrong.

The answer is (D).

thanks so much

The correct answer is D) Falling toward earth with an acceleration less than g.

To understand why this is the correct answer, let's break it down:

When a satellite orbits the Earth, it is constantly being pulled towards the Earth by gravity. However, the satellite also has a sufficient velocity tangential to its orbit, which creates a balance between gravity and its velocity.

In the case of a satellite orbiting at an elevation of 3200 km, it is still under the influence of Earth's gravity, but its velocity is high enough that it continues to fall towards the Earth with an acceleration less than g (acceleration due to gravity at the Earth's surface).

This is because the satellite is in a stable circular or near-circular orbit, where the centripetal force required to keep it in that orbit is provided by the gravitational force between the satellite and the Earth.

Therefore, the correct answer is D) Falling toward Earth with an acceleration less than g.