| Exam Board | Edexcel |
| Module | M3 (Mechanics 3) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Session | June |
| Topic | Work, energy and Power 2 |
3. A particle \(P\) of mass \(m\) moves in a straight line away from the centre of the Earth. The Earth is modelled as a sphere of radius \(R\). When \(P\) is at a distance \(x , x \geqslant R\), from the centre of the Earth, the force exerted by the Earth on \(P\) is directed towards the centre of the Earth and has magnitude \(\frac { m g R ^ { 2 } } { x ^ { 2 } }\). When \(P\) is at a distance \(2 R\) from the surface of the Earth, the speed of \(P\) is \(\sqrt { \frac { g R } { 3 } }\).
Assuming that air resistance can be ignored, find the distance of \(P\) from the surface of the Earth when the speed of \(P\) is \(2 \sqrt { \frac { g R } { 3 } }\).