Final answer:
If the Moon's tangential velocity were reduced to zero, it would free-fall directly towards Earth due to gravity, eventually colliding at a speed determined by the conversion of its gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy in the absence of air friction.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the Moon's tangential velocity were suddenly reduced to zero, it would no longer have the speed necessary to maintain its orbit around Earth.
Without this velocity, the Moon would be pulled directly towards Earth by gravity, following a straight-line path that would end in a collision.
The Moon's path would essentially become a free-fall trajectory towards Earth.
The acceleration due to gravity that the Moon experiences, which is much less than we experience on Earth's surface due to its distance (about 1/3600 of what an apple experiences), would still govern the speed at which the Moon would travel towards Earth.
None of the provided reference information explicitly describes this scenario, but they do help illustrate underlying principles of gravity and motion that are relevant.
If we apply Newton's law of universal gravitation and the principles of energy conservation, we can deduce that as the Moon falls towards Earth, its potential energy would be converted to kinetic energy, leading to an increase in velocity as it approaches Earth, until it eventually impacts the surface.
The actual speed upon impact would depend on a number of factors, including the distance the Moon fell and the local strength of gravity. Air friction, which slows objects down, is not present in space to impede this acceleration.