The Earth and the Moon attract each other, but why doesn't the Moon collapse into Earth?
A
Due to centripetal force which is the force of gravity exerted by earth on moon
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B
The sun's gravitational force is greater than that of the earth
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C
The mass of the moon is less than that of the earth
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D
The absence of gravity in space
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Solution
The correct option is A Due to centripetal force which is the force of gravity exerted by earth on moon Consider a ball tied to a string at one end and being rotated. Like the tension in the string that is causing the ball to revolve around a point, the gravitational force between the Earth and the Moon causes the Moon to revolve around the Earth.
In the ball and string case tension is the centripetal force, while in case of the Earth and the Moon it is the gravitational force.
This is why the Moon doesn't collapse into the Earth.