Does the earth accelerate towards the rock?

Question

a.the earth would accelerate up towards the rock if it weren't already accelerating towards a rock falling downward on the other side of the world

b.no, the earth doesn't accelerate towards or away from the rock.

b.yes, but because the earth's mass and inertia are so big, the acceleration is so small, we can't really see it

Answer 1

The most accurate interpretation of the question would be:

c. yes, but because the earth's mass and inertia are so big, the acceleration is so small, we can't really see it.

According to Newton's law of gravitation, both the Earth and the rock (or any two masses) exert a gravitational force on each other, causing both to accelerate towards each other. However, because the Earth's mass is so large compared to the mass of the rock, the Earth's acceleration towards the rock is negligible and not perceptible. In practical terms, it appears as though the rock falls towards the Earth while the Earth remains stationary.