Why does the moon orbit Earth rather than the sun? a The moon is closer to Earth than it is to the sun. b The moon is more attracted to Earth's magnetic field. c The sun's gravity is too weak to affect the moon. d The moon is not affected by the sun's gravity.

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Why does the moon orbit Earth rather than the sun? a The moon is closer to Earth than it is to the sun. b The moon is more attracted to Earth's magnetic field. c The sun's gravity is too weak to affect the moon. d The moon is not affected by the sun's gravity.

Answer 1

## Step 1 ### **Gravitational Attraction** According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, every mass attracts every other mass in the universe with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. This law applies to the interactions between the Earth, the moon, and the sun. ## Step 2 ### **Distance and Mass Factors** While the sun is much more massive than the Earth, and thus has a stronger gravitational pull in absolute terms, the distance between the moon and the sun is also much greater than the distance between the moon and the Earth. The gravitational force decreases with the square of the distance. Therefore, the proximity of the moon to Earth makes Earth's gravitational pull on the moon stronger than that of the sun at the moon's location. ## Step 3 ### **Orbital Dynamics** The moon orbits the Earth because it is within Earth's gravitational sphere of influence. The sphere of influence is a region around a celestial body within which the primary gravitational influence on an orbiting object is that body. ## Step 4 ### **Analyzing the Options** - a) The moon being closer to Earth than to the sun is a relevant factor, as the gravitational force is stronger with closer proximity. - b) Earth's magnetic field is negligible in this context. The moon's orbit is governed by gravity, not magnetic forces. - c) The sun's gravity is not too weak to affect the moon. In fact, it does affect the moon, but the moon is more strongly influenced by Earth's gravity due to its proximity. - d) The moon is indeed affected by the sun's gravity. The sun's gravitational force influences the moon's orbit around Earth, causing phenomena like solar tides. Therefore, the correct answer is based on the relative distances and the gravitational forces involved.

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Why does the moon orbit Earth rather than the sun? a The moon is closer to Earth than it is to the sun. b The moon is more attracted to Earth's magnetic field. c The sun's gravity is too weak to affect the moon. d The moon is not affected by the sun's gravity.

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