Newton’s second law states that acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass of an object when subjected to a given force. Because the mass of the Earth is much greater than the mass of the Moon, the acceleration of the Earth due to the Moon’s gravitational force is much smaller compared to the acceleration of the Moon due to the Earth’s gravitational force.
How does Newton’s second law of motion explain the relative accelerations of the Earth and the Moon due to their gravitational interaction?
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Newton’s second law states F = ma. The gravitational force F between Earth and the Moon is equal, but due to Earth’s much larger mass (m), its acceleration (a) is significantly smaller. Conversely, the Moon’s smaller mass results in a larger acceleration, explaining their relative movements under the same gravitational force.