The velocity with which a projectile must be fired to escape from the earth does not depend upon

Options

A. Mass of the earth
B. Mass of the projectile
C. Radius of the projectile's orbit
D. Gravitational constant.

Answer

B

Explanation

For a projectile to leave the gravitational field of the earth, its kinetic energy would be at least equal to potential energy. That is
`1/2mv_e^2=G(Mm)/(R) rArr v_e= sqrt((2GM)/(R))`
Where G is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the earth and R is the radius of the earth. hence the escape velocity of a projectile is independent of its own mass