If the moon attracts the earth,why does the earth not move towards the moon?

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) According to Newton's third law of motion,the Earth and the moon exert equal and opposite gravitational forces on each other.
However,according to Newton's second law of motion,$F = ma$,the acceleration produced in a body is inversely proportional to its mass $(a = F/m)$.
The mass of the Earth is significantly larger than the mass of the moon.
Due to this massive difference in mass,the acceleration produced in the Earth is negligible compared to the acceleration produced in the moon.
Therefore,the Earth does not show any observable movement towards the moon.

Explore More

Similar Questions

State the universal law of gravitation.

What do we call the gravitational force between the earth and an object?

Why does an object float or sink when placed on the surface of water?

You have a bag of cotton and an iron bar,each indicating a mass of $100\, kg$ when measured on a weighing machine. In reality,one is heavier than the other. Can you say which one is heavier and why?

$A$ ball thrown up vertically returns to the thrower after $6\, s$. Find
$(a)$ the velocity with which it was thrown up,
$(b)$ the maximum height it reaches,and
$(c)$ its position after $4\, s$.

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo