Question

look at the diagram of the moon and three different paths that it could take. which description applies best to pathway 2? the path of the moon toward the sun the path of the moons orbit around earth the path the moon would take if it had a larger mass than the sun the path the moon would take if there was no force of earths gravity

Explanation:

Pathway 2 is a straight line tangential to the moon's circular orbit. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object in motion will stay in straight-line motion if no net force acts on it. Earth's gravity is the centripetal force that keeps the moon in its curved orbit; without this force, the moon would move in a straight tangential path like pathway 2. The other options are incorrect: pathway 3 matches the moon's actual orbit, pathway 1 would not align with the sunward direction, and mass relative to the sun does not create this straight path.

Answer:

D. the path the moon would take if there was no force of Earth's gravity