The moon orbits around the earth; the earth orbits around the sun. both orbits seem to be close to a circle; today we call the path an ellipse. to keep the moon and the earth moving in their orbits rather than wandering off, the earth must exert a pull on the moon and the sun a pull on earth. newton named that pulling force gravity.

all but one statement explains why newton's theory was not immediately recognized as a law.
a) newton made assumptions he could not prove to begin his calculations.
b) the church of england refused to allow newton's works to be published.
c) newtons calculations were not confirmed in the lab for another hundred years.
d) calculus had not been created in the 1600's and not everyone could follow newton's reasoning.