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Tides on Earth occur because of the gravitational force between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun. Because gravitational force decreases with increasing distance, the force of the Moon's gravity is less on the side of Earth facing away from the Moon than on the side of Earth facing the Moon. The Sun also causes tides, but the Sun's effect on tides is less than that of the Moon. The effect of their combined gravitational forces is to try to squeeze Earth into an ellipse. However, the Earth's crust is rigid and does not easily deform. The water in the ocean flows and piles up to create high tides. The figure provided shows the tidal bulges created by the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun.
The ocean tides are influenced more by the Moon than by the Sun. Which of the following best explains this statement?
A.
The Sun is much brighter than the Moon.
B.
The Sun has less mass than the Moon.
C.
The Sun is farther from Earth than the Moon is.
D.
The Sun has less gravity than the Moon.
As explained in your question, gravitational forces lessen the farther something is from something else. Even though the Sun is far larger and therefore should exert a stronger gravitational force on Earth, the fact that it is farther from Earth than the Moon is causes the Sun to have less pull on the oceans of Earth.
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