What type of force is responsible for the Moon’s circular motion around Earth?
Centripetal Force due to Earth's gravity
Any object moving in a circle must be pulled continuously towards the centre of that circle; this inward (centre-seeking) force is called the centripetal force. For the Moon, this required centripetal force is supplied by the gravitational attraction of the Earth. Earth's gravity constantly pulls the Moon inward, bending its straight-line path into an almost circular orbit instead of letting it fly off in a straight line.
Therefore, the force responsible is the centripetal force due to Earth's gravity.
Centrifugal force is not a real applied force but an apparent (pseudo) force felt in a rotating frame; it cannot keep the Moon in orbit. Normal force is the contact push a surface exerts on an object resting on it, and there is no such contact in space. Electromagnetic force acts between charges and magnets, whereas the Earth–Moon system is held together by gravity, not by electric or magnetic interaction.
Important Questions from Gravitation
Which one of the following statement is true for the relation, \(F= \frac{{G{m_1}{m_2}}}{{{r^2}}}\) ?
(All symbols have their usual meanings)Suppose there are two planets, 1 and 2, having the same density but their radii are R 1and R 2respectively, where R 1> R 2. The accelerations due to gravity on the surface of these planets are related as
LIGO stands for
If radius of the earth were to shrink by 1%, its mass remains the same, g would decrease by nearly
The radius of the Moon is about one-fourth that of the Earth and acceleration due to gravity on the moon is about one-sixth that on the earth. From this, we can conclude that the ratio of the mass of earth to the mass of the moon is about
