What does the gravitational force between the Moon and Earth depend on?

their diameters only
their masses only
C their diameters and how far apart they are
D
their masses and distance between the objects

1 answer

The gravitational force between the Moon and the Earth depends on their masses and the distance between them. This relationship is described by Newton's law of universal gravitation, which states that the force of gravity (F) between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses (m1 and m2) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between their centers:

\[ F = \frac{G \cdot m_1 \cdot m_2}{r^2} \]

Where \( G \) is the gravitational constant.

Therefore, the correct answer is D: their masses and distance between the objects.