KCET 2025 Physics Paper

Angular momentum is conserved in an elliptical orbit, meaning:
Lp=La
where Lp is the angular momentum at perihelion and La is the angular momentum at aphelion.
The perihelion is the point in the orbit where the planet is closest to the Sun. Therefore, the radius at perihelion (rp) is less than the radius at aphelion (ra) :
rp<ra
Because angular momentum is conserved, we have:
mvprp=mvara
From this, it follows that the velocity at perihelion (vp) is greater than the velocity at aphelion (va) :
vp>va