A small moon follows a circular orbit around Saturn. At one instant, the gravitational attraction between the moon and Saturn stops acting. Which path would the moon follow immediately after this?
a smaller circular orbit around Saturn
a straight line towards the centre of Saturn
a straight line tangent to its circular orbit
a straight line directly away from Saturn
80 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 7.1 The Solar System and gravity, covering 7.1.1 Weight and g on different bodies in space, 7.1.2 The Solar System, 7.1.3 Changing ideas about the Solar System, 7.1.4 Orbits of moons, planets, comets and satellites, and 7.1.5 Gravity and orbital motion. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.