Final answer:
Without Earth's gravitational force, the Moon would move in a straight line away from its current orbital path, following its tangential velocity at the time the force is switched off, due to Newton's first law of motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the gravitational force between Earth and the Moon were suddenly switched off, the Moon would no longer be bound to the Earth's orbit. Currently, the Moon orbits Earth due to the gravitational pull exerted by Earth, which keeps it in a balance between the centripetal force required for its circular path and the centrifugal force due to its inertia. In the absence of this gravitational attraction, the Moon would continue to move in the direction of its tangential velocity at that instant, essentially in a straight line away from its orbital path, following Newton's first law of motion.
Gravitational forces ensure the Moon's centripetal acceleration, which keeps it in orbit around Earth. Without Earth's gravity, the Moon would just travel in a straight-line trajectory through space. This concept can be attributed to the understanding that Earth's gravitational force causes the Moon to orbit Earth, and this relationship is quantified by Newton's law of universal gravitation and his laws of motion.