Asked by tt

What causes a satellite to move tangentially to a circular path?

air resistance
friction
inertia
gravity

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Inertia. A satellite’s momentum makes it keep moving in a straight line (tangentially); gravity provides the inward (centripetal) force that continually bends that straight-line motion into a circular orbit. Air resistance and friction are not responsible (and are negligible in orbit).