Geosynchronous satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 3.58×10^7 m. Given that the Earth's radius is 6.38×10^6 m and its mass is 5.97×10^24 kg, what is the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration at the altitude of one of these satellites?

Question

Please explain as well as give an answer. I would like to know the hows and whys for future reference.

Answer 1

g=force/mass=GMe/distance^2 is one way, if you look up the mass of the Earth

Another way is to compute centripetal acceleration
a=v^2/r = w^2/r where w=2PI/period and r is given above.

and period is a day in seconds.