What is the approximate tangential speed of an object orbiting Earth with a radius of 1.8 × 108 m and a period of 2.2 × 104 s?

For circular motion, tangential speed is the orbit’s circumference divided by its period: v = 2πr/T. Substituting r = 1.8 × 10⁸ m and T = 2.2 × 10⁴ s gives v ≈ 2π(1.8 × 10⁸)/(2.2 × 10⁴) ≈ 5.1 × 10⁴ m/s. The approximate tangential speed is 5.1 × 10⁴ m/s, choice B.

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