Final answer:
The net gravitational force on the Moon during a solar eclipse is the difference between the Earth's and the Sun's gravitational pull on the Moon, with both forces acting along the same line.
Step-by-step explanation:
During a solar eclipse, gravitational forces from both the Earth and the Sun act on the Moon. The net gravitational force on the Moon is the vector sum of the individual gravitational forces exerted by the Earth and the Sun. Since all three celestial bodies are aligned, the forces are collinear and the net force can be found by subtracting the force of the Sun's gravity from the force of the Earth's gravity because they are pulling the Moon in opposite directions.
To calculate these forces, Newton's law of universal gravitation is used, which states that the gravitational force between two masses is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. The equation for this is F = G * (m1 * m2) / r^2, where F is the gravitational force, G is the gravitational constant, m1 and m2 are the masses of the objects, and r is the distance between the centers of the two masses.
The actual numerical calculation would require the values of the masses of the Moon, Earth, and Sun, as well as the distances between them. However, it's usually found that, although the force from the Sun is weaker than that from the Earth due to the greater distance, it is still significant because of the Sun's much larger mass.