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AP Physics 1
2.9 Circular Motion
2.6 Gravitational Force
IntermediateMCQConceptual23.5k
The diagram shows Earth as a large, solid blue circle in the center. A light-gray dashed line forms a perfect circle concentric with Earth, representing the orbital path of a space station. A small, white rectangular box represents the space station, located at the 3 o'clock position on the orbital path. Inside the space station, a small black dot represents an astronaut. A single red vector arrow originates from the black dot and points horizontally to the left, directly toward the center of Earth. This arrow is labeled with the symbol \(F_g\). There are no other force vectors shown on the astronaut.
An astronaut in a space station orbiting Earth.
An astronaut of mass \(m\) is inside a space station that is in a stable circular orbit around Earth at an altitude \(h\). Earth has mass \(M\) and radius \(R\). Which of the following best explains why the astronaut feels weightless while in orbit?

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