AQA GCSE Physics Solar System Orbits and Satellites Worksheet

What is covered

Questions and skills covered

The worksheet contains 7 pages of printable questions. A separate 7-page solutions PDF makes it easy to mark, review or share answers after the activity.

• Solar System within Milky Way; one Sun, eight planets, dwarf planets and natural/artificial satellites
• Interpret four orbit-relationship arrows without treating them as distance or force vectors
• Earth gravity maintains both natural and artificial satellite orbits
• Draw inward force arrows at rightmost and top orbital positions; no magnitude inferred from an unscaled drawing
• Use full orbital path, unit conversions and average speed: L 7.5 km/s, H about 3.1 km/s
• Three complete L circuits in six hours, not four from rounding up 3.6
• Choose flood, storm and relay options from separate resolution, viewing-gap and contact-window data
• Distinguish orbital period/speed from continuous coverage and revisit gaps
• Foundation: time, outage path length, half-period path, percentage contact and combined-constraint decision
• Higher only: equal-length anticlockwise tangent velocity arrows, inward acceleration and changing direction/velocity at constant speed
• Higher only: changed speed in a final stable circular orbit requires changed radius; no outward balancing force
• Higher only: model comparison refutes larger-orbit/higher-speed claim but establishes no exact inverse-proportion rule

About this activity

Use supplied orbital and operational evidence for justified physics decisions, not recalled satellite fact lists. Distinguish force, speed, velocity, period and useful coverage.

Before you start

After teaching selected Separate Physics Solar System/orbit content and speed calculations; Higher pupils also taught circular-motion acceleration and qualitative stable-orbit reasoning. No A-level mechanics.