An Earth Satellite in an Elliptical Orbit "Speeds Down" (That

Multiple Choice

An Earth satellite in an elliptical orbit "speeds down" (that is, as it comes closer to the Earth, its speed increases) . This is consistent with the fact that the gravitational potential energy U of the satellite-Earth system at points closer to the Earth is

A) larger than U at points farther from the Earth.
B) equal to U at points farther from the Earth.
C) less than U at points farther from the Earth.
D) Hold it! None of the above responses is correct.