Physics

Problem

A body of mass

m

is moving in a circular orbit of radius

R

about a planet of mass

M

. At some instant, it splits into two equal masses. The first mass moves in a circular orbit of radius

\frac{R}{2}

, and the other mass, in a circular orbit of radius

\frac{3R}{2}

. The difference between the final and initial total energies is: a.

-\frac{GMm}{2R}

+\frac{GMm}{6R}

-\frac{GMm}{6R}

\frac{GMm}{2R}