Question

Earth attracts moon. Why does it not collapse into the Earth?

• A. Speed of the moon is just enough for it to revolve at the height.
• B. The sun's gravitational force on the moon is greater than that of Earth.
• C. The mass of the moon is less than that of Earth.
• D. The moon is falling at a slow rate and we cannot feel the difference.

Answer 1

The correct option is A Speed of the moon is just enough for it to revolve at the height.

Earth attracts moon due to gravitational force. The magnitude of this force is just enough to provide the centripetal force for the moon to remain in orbit. If the moon's speed was slower, it would have revolved in a larger orbit to maintain the cetripetal force.