Gravity or gravitational forces are forces of attraction. We’re not talking about finding someone really cute and adorable. It’s like the Earth pulling on you and keeping you on the ground. That pull is gravity at work.Every object in the universe that has mass exerts a gravitational pull, or force, on every other mass. The size of the pull depends on the masses of the objects. You exert a gravitational force on the people around you,
but that force isn’t very strong, since people aren’t very massive. When you look at really large masses, like the Earth and Moon, the gravitational pull becomes very impressive.
The gravitational force between the Earth and the molecules of gas in the atmosphere is strong enough to hold the atmosphere close to our surface. Smaller planets, that have less mass, may not be able to hold an atmosphere.
Obviously, gravity is very important on Earth. The Sun’s gravitational pull keeps our planet orbiting the Sun. The motion of the Moon is affected by the gravity of the Sun AND the Earth.
The Moon’s gravity pulls on the Earth and makes the tides rise and fall every day. As the Moon passes over the ocean, there is a swell in the sea level. As the Earth rotates,
the Moon passes over new parts of the Earth, causing the swell to move also. The tides are independent of the phase of the moon. The moon has the same amount of pull whether there is a full or new moon. It would still be in the same basic place.
