What would happen to the moon if gravity no longer effected it
A. The moon would continue to run around on its orbital path
B. The moon was stopped moving all together
C. The moon can move in a spiral towards Earth
D. The moon can move in a straight line
since gravity is the only force acting on the moon, with no gravity there would be no force acting on it. So, what does a body do in the absence of external forces?
If gravity no longer affected the moon, it would no longer be in the gravitational pull of the Earth. In this scenario, the correct answer would be option D - the moon would move in a straight line.
To arrive at this conclusion, we can consider Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia. According to this law, an object in motion will stay in motion in a straight line at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. In the absence of gravity, the moon would no longer experience the centripetal force necessary to keep it in its orbital path around the Earth. As a result, it would continue moving in a straight line, rather than continuing on its orbital path or spiraling towards Earth.