An astronaut finishes some work on the outside of his satellite, which is in circular orbit around the Earth.He leaves his wrench outside the satellite.If there is no air resistance, the wrench will:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The wrench will continue to orbit with the satellite because it maintains the same velocity as the satellite. In the absence of air resistance, there are no forces acting on the wrench to slow it down, so it will continue to follow the same circular path as the satellite. Neither A, D, nor E provide a reasonable explanation for what happens to the wrench after it is dropped. B is incorrect because reducing the speed of a circular orbit would cause the object to move to a elliptical orbit, which would not be stable.

An Astronaut Finishes Some Work on the Outside of His