UPSC Civil Services Model Paper 8

Escape Velocity (Escape Speed) is the minimum speed with which a mass should be projected from the Earth’s surface in order to escape Earth’s gravitation field.
Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
Its SI unit is m/s.
If the object is thrown from the surface of the earth, h = 0, and we get
(Vt)min = √

2GME

Rg

Using the relation g = GME∕RE2
(Vt)min = √2gRE
Using the value of g and RE , numerically (Vi)min = 11.2 km/s.
This is called the escape speed, sometimes loosely called the escape velocity.
It is better to launch a ship from the equator because the radius is greater at the equator.
Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.