5
lesson pretestMultiple Choice

Pretest

Question 5 • Physical Science

A spacecraft is launched from Earth toward the moon. Where will the spacecraft be when the gravitational forces acting on it are equal?

Answer
A
closer to the moon than to Earth because the moon has greater mass than Earth
B
closer to Earth than to the moon because the moon has greater mass than Earth
C
closer to the moon than to Earth because Earth has greater mass than the moon
D
closer to Earth than to the moon because Earth has greater mass than the moon

Explanation

The gravitational force from each body is proportional to its mass divided by the square of the spacecraft’s distance from it. Since Earth is much more massive than the Moon, the spacecraft must be farther from Earth and closer to the Moon for the two gravitational forces to be equal. Thus, the correct choice is “closer to the moon than to Earth because Earth has greater mass than the moon.”

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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