Suppose two spacecraft orbit the earth at the equator. Spacecraft A travels...?

Question

at an altitude of 150 miels and spacecraft B at an altitude of 230 miles. How much further does spacecraft B travel than spacecraft A in one orbit of the earth? Use 3960 miles for the radius of the earth

thank you!

Answer 1

simple...it is still a calculation of the circumference.

circum = 2 r (pi)

Spacecraft A = radius of earth plus altitude of orbit

= 3960 + 150 = 4110 miles

circum Spacecraft A = 2(4110)(3.1415) = 25823.13 miles

Spacecraft B = 3960 + 230 = 4190 miles

circum Spacecraft B = 2(4190)(3.1415) = 26325.77 miles

Difference = 26325.77 - 25823.13 = 502.64 miles

(you will probably get better responses by posting math questions in the math section rather than in the geography section)