Question

What will happen if there is no centripetal force acting on the moon?
A. It will move in a straight line rather than revolving around the earth
B. The moon will become stationary
C. There will be no charge
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint:Centripetal force is the force that enables a body to follow a curved path. Centripetal force always directs at the right angle to the motion of the body and towards the fixed point of the center of curvature of the path. In this case, we will first understand how the moon possesses centripetal force and then we will understand what will happen after the removal of centripetal force.

Complete step by step answer:
As we know, when an object moves in a circle, it will possess some acceleration. This acceleration will be directed towards the center of the circle. Now, according to Newton's second law of motion, an object that possesses acceleration must also experience a net force. This net force is known as centripetal force.

Now, as we know, the moon revolves around a circular orbit. The gravitational force acting on the earth will attract the moon towards itself. But, as the moon is revolving in a circular orbit, a centripetal force will act on it. Now, when we remove this centripetal force, the earth will not revolve in a circular orbit and the gravitational force exerted by the earth will enable the moon to move in a straight line that is at the tangent to the orbit of the moon.

Therefore, when there is no centripetal acting on the moon, it will move in a straight line rather than revolving around the earth.

Hence, option A is the correct option.

Note:The word centripetal refers to the center, therefore, the centripetal acts along the center of the body. Therefore, we can say that the centripetal force acts along the center of the moon. This force enables the moon to stay in a circular motion with the same speed.