2. Both the sun and the moon exert gravitational force on the waters of Earth. This creates the tides we are familiar with. Look at the photograph below. Which of the following BEST explains why the moon has a greater effect on the tides than the sun? aThe moon is denser than the sunbThe moon is closer to Earth than the sun is.cThe moon has a lot more mass than the sun.dThe moon has greater acceleration than the sun.
Question
- Both the sun and the moon exert gravitational force on the waters of Earth. This creates the tides we are familiar with. Look at the photograph below. Which of the following BEST explains why the moon has a greater effect on the tides than the sun? aThe moon is denser than the sunbThe moon is closer to Earth than the sun is.cThe moon has a lot more mass than the sun.dThe moon has greater acceleration than the sun.
Solution
The correct answer is b. The moon is closer to Earth than the sun is.
The gravitational force that an object exerts on another is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This is known as Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Even though the sun is much more massive than the moon, it is also much farther away from the Earth. The distance factor is squared in the equation, so it has a greater effect on the gravitational force than the mass of the objects.
Therefore, because the moon is much closer to the Earth than the sun, it has a greater effect on the tides.
Similar Questions
The Sun's mass is about 27 million times more than the mass of the Moon. Why is the Sun's effect is less than the effect of the Moon on Tides on the Earth?Group of answer choicesthe Moon is closerthe Sun is heavierthe Moon is lighterthe Sun is on the opposite side of the Moonthe Earth is lighter than the Sun
What causes the tides?Gravitational pull of the sun onlyGravitational pull of the moon and sun, but the moon is stronger Gravitational pull of the moon and sun, but the sun is strongerGravitational pull of the moon only
Select which object's gravitational pull is the main cause of tides on Earth.The SunThe MoonJupiterI'm not sure
Earth's tides are caused by the gravity of the moon and the ____________.
What causes tides in the oceans? aWind moving across the surface of the water bGravitational pull of the Sun and Moon, and the rotation of the Earth cEnergy from the Sun's rays dAll of these
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