Question

question 26 of 26
what keeps the moon from falling directly to earth?
a. the moon has a large tangential velocity that causes it to \miss\ earth as it falls toward it.
b. the moons rotation about its own axis creates centripetal force that balances earths pull.
c. the moon is balanced between the gravitational pulls from both earth and the sun.
d. the moons gravitational force balances the gravitational pull from earth.

Explanation:

The Moon moves in an orbit around the Earth. Its large tangential velocity causes it to move forward while being pulled by Earth's gravity, making it "miss" the Earth as it falls towards it. The Moon's rotation about its own axis is not related to the force that keeps it from falling directly to Earth. The balance between the Earth - Sun - Moon gravitational forces is more related to the Moon's overall orbital dynamics in the solar - system context rather than preventing it from falling directly to Earth. And the Moon's gravitational force acts on Earth and vice - versa, but it's not a balancing of these two forces that keeps the Moon from falling directly to Earth.

Answer:

A. The Moon has a large tangential velocity that causes it to "miss" Earth as it falls toward it.