A spaceship is traveling from Earth to the Moon. Which of the following is true of the gravitational force on the ship due to the two objects when the ship is equidistant from Earth and the Moon?

A There is no net force because the ship is beyond the influence of Earth and the

B There is no net force because the forces exerted by Earth and the Moon balance.

C There is a net force because the force exerted by Earth is smaller than that exerted

D There is a net force because the force exerted by Earth is greater than that exerted

E There is a net force because the ship must be accelerating toward the Moon.

Question

Physics

Katrina Beasley

5 January, 23:57

A spaceship is traveling from Earth to the Moon. Which of the following is true of the gravitational force on the ship due to the two objects when the ship is equidistant from Earth and the Moon?

A There is no net force because the ship is beyond the influence of Earth and the

B There is no net force because the forces exerted by Earth and the Moon balance.

C There is a net force because the force exerted by Earth is smaller than that exerted

D There is a net force because the force exerted by Earth is greater than that exerted

E There is a net force because the ship must be accelerating toward the Moon.

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Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Cesar Callahan · Answer 1

D. There is a net force because the force exerted by Earth is greater than that exerted by the moon.

Explanation:

The gravitational force exerted by the earth will be greater than that exerted by the moon, especially at equal distance because gravitational force is directly proportional to mass of both the satellite and planetary body involved.

This means a greater mass would result in a greater gravitational force. Hence, since the mass of the earth is greater than the mass of the moon, the gravitational force due to the earth will be greater than that due to the moon.