Asked by christian

Which formula can be used to find the tangential speed of an orbiting object?

v = StartFraction 2 pi r over T EndFraction
v = StartFraction square root of 2 pi r over T EndFraction
v = GStartFraction m Subscript central Baseline over r EndFraction
v = rStartFraction (m Subscript central Baseline) over G EndFraction

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
v = 2πr / T

Reason: tangential speed = distance traveled per period = circumference (2πr) divided by orbital period T. (For a circular orbit you can also use v = sqrt(GM/r), which is equivalent if T satisfies Kepler's third law.)