The Moon does not crash into Earth because
A)Earth's gravitational field is weak at the Moon's distance.
B)the gravitational pull of other planets keeps the Moon up.
C)the Moon has a sufficient tangential speed.
D)the Moon has less mass than Earth.
E)none of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Moon does not crash into Earth because it has a sufficient tangential speed that balances the force of Earth's gravitational pull. This maintains the Moon's orbit around Earth instead of causing it to fall towards Earth. Option A is false because Earth's gravitational field is strong enough to keep the Moon in orbit. Option B is false because the gravitational pull of other planets does not have a significant effect on the Moon's orbit. Option D is false because the mass of an object does not determine if it will stay in orbit or not.

The Moon Does Not Crash into Earth Because