Final answer:
Earth has fewer visible craters than the Moon because its active geology and thick atmosphere either prevent or erase evidence of impact events. Plate tectonics, volcanism, and atmospheric burn-up of smaller meteoroids significantly contribute to this difference.
Step-by-step explanation:
Despite the Earth's larger size and strong gravity that could potentially attract more impact events compared to the Moon, our planet has comparatively few visible craters due to several key factors. The most significant difference between the Earth and the Moon, with respect to impact craters, is Earth's active geology. Plate tectonics and volcanism work continually to reshape Earth's surface, erasing evidence of past impact events. On the Moon, in contrast, a lack of atmosphere, geological activity, and weathering processes has allowed craters to remain virtually unchanged for billions of years.
Moreover, Earth's thick atmosphere acts as a protective shield, causing smaller meteoroids to burn up as meteors before they can strike the surface. Larger impacts have occurred, but the resulting craters have been steadily worn away or covered over by Earth's dynamic environmental processes including weathering, erosion, and the movement of tectonic plates. Over geological time spans, this activity leads to the disappearance of impact craters, meaning we find far fewer of them on Earth compared to the Moon's surface that preserves its cratering history.