How does speed affect orbiting altitude?

If I increase the gravitational pull or the speed of the satellite model, then it will take a different trajectory.

• A cookie sheet

• Finger Paint Paper

• Masking Tape

• Metric Ruler with centimeters

• Pencil

• Scissors

• A cardboard tube

• A lot of Modeling Clay, multiple containers

• Newspaper to protect your work environment

• A container with good-sized marbles

• 6 lids of Plastic Food Containers

• Disposable Gloves

• Liquid Food Coloring, at least six colors

• Cloths or Paper Towels

• Notebook

1. Gather Materials

2. Set up the satellite model by following steps #3-#10

3. Create a trajectory panel by setting your cookie sheet down on a table and taping a piece of finger paint paper on top.

4. Use your ruler to create measuring indications, parallel to and 2 cm below the rimmed edge of the cookie sheet. This line will be the Horizontal Track Line.

5. Draw a line parallel to the right side of the paper, 3 cm out, and mark it all the way down with a line. Mark every cm with a small pencil line and every 5 cm with a big one. Mark the spot 23 cm to the left of this line on the horizontal track line. That mark will be the end of your launch tube. The line should meet at the top with the horizontal track line.

6. Create the tube by taking a second finger paint paper, cut one end off, making a 40 cm long rectangle, and rolling it lengthwise and sliding it inside the cardboard tube. Therefore, making it a 40 cm long tube. You should have put the rolled up paper three quarters of the way or so inside the tube.

7. Put the launch tube in place by forming a ball of clay 5 cm in diameter, placing it on the end of the horizontal track line and adjusting it until it the tube reaches 5 cm in height.

8. Use clay to form 12 cm and 4 cm high pillars that you will put underneath the cookie sheet, tilting it a little bit, acting like the planet using gravitational pull on the satellite, the marble.

9. Collect data on the heights and what you have so far. I will call this a DATA BREAK.

10. Test the model by following the remaining steps.

11. Fine tune the model to the zero gravity meaning with no pillars, put the marble and put it any color of food coloring. The cookie sheet should be straight and not tilted. Roll the marble down the tube, launching it, and observe the trajectory.

12. Use the food coloring and use the different colors. For instance, roll the marble in yellow so that when it launches, you will know which path it took because the color will splatter onto the paper, showing the trajectory.

13. Now do the test on pull from Saturn and pull from Jupiter. Use the 4 cm high pillars for Saturn and use the 12 cm pillars of clay for Jupiter. Remember to use different colors!

14. Now double the elevation of the tube by making the ball of clay holding the tube larger, from 5 to 10 cm, using your ruler.

15. Now do tests on " HIGH SPEED satellites with Jupiter, high speed satellites with Saturn, and high speed satellites with no gravity at all". Remember to switch pillars and colors accordingly each time.

16. Take a MAJOR DATA BREAK to analyze and collect everything you just did.

17. Repeat the experiment until you have done it three times.

Independent Variable- The different clay balls, changing the different sizes.

Dependent Variable- The marble changing direction because of the amount of clay underneath the cookie sheet.

Constant- The same type of marble will be used.

Control Group- We will do the experiment on a marble with no clay underneath the cookie sheet.

Luciano Rodriguez From 6M Feb. 8, 2021

Conclusion

My experiment was how does speed affect the orbiting altitude of a satellite. My hypothesis was if I change or increase the gravitational pull or speed of the satellite, then it will take a different trajectory than if there is no gravitational pull. This hypothesis was very correct. The trajectory changed up to nearly 20 cm from zero gravity. The results were different because of the different size clay pillars tilting the cookie sheet, causing the satellite, our marble, to roll off the finger paint paper in a different direction.

Abstract

This is a review, pretty much a summary of my experiment. So my experiment is How does speed affect orbiting altitude? Basically, you get a marble to use as a satellite, you build a launch tube, and you see what happens. The purpose is to see how a satellite MODEL compares to what real life satellites do. The results were pretty much what I expected.

My hypothesis was correct that if I increase the gravitational pull or the speed of the satellite model, then it will take a different trajectory than if there is no gravitational pull. The satellite changed direction by 15 to 20 cm compared to zero gravity. Remember that the gravitational pull changes because of the differing sizes of the clay pillars. The clay did its job very well. Next I will explain procedures, materials, and the data I collected.

Among the main materials were at least six colors of food coloring, a bag of marbles { in case you lose one }, and clay. You also need the finger paint paper and the cookie sheet. Those were the main materials, although there were at least 10 more. In a brief description of the procedures, you had to make the satellite model and mark down the cm points with the cookie sheet and finger paint paper, build 4 and 12 cm high pillars with clay, and use the marble, pillars, and different food colorings accordingly to put it to the test. When I collected data on the results, they were proof of my correct hypothesis. Zero gravity had about 0 cm, Saturn { 4 cm } had 5-10 cm marks, and Jupiter { 12 cm } had 10-20 cm marks depending on the speed.

When you put the clay under the sheet, it tilts. Therefore, the clay rolls down near the 15 cm or whatever mark like Jupiter, the 12 cm clay did. I found that this would be similar to the satellites in space, because the more gravity on an object, it comes toward the object. If there is less gravity or/and the satellite is going at a greater speed, it moves away from the object. This research and project would be good for scientists to continue studying the impact of the speed and the gravitational pull on a satellite. So you know what? I say it’s just GOOD OL’ SCIENCE! BYE!

This research and project would be good for scientists to continue studying the impact of the speed and the gravitational pull on a satellite.

Luciano Rodriguez from 6M Feb. 10, 2021

Bibliography

All three of my sources were websites.

“Mathematics of Satellite Motion”. The Physics Classroom, Pinterest/Google, 2021, www.physicsclassroom.com

“How does speed affect orbiting altitude”. Science Buddies, Google, 2021, www.sciencebuddies.org

Brown, Gary and Harris, William. “How satellites work.” How stuff works. science.howstuffworks.com.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS