We need to be careful here.
The calculation of the gravitational force between two objects
refers to the distance between their centers.
The minimum possible distance between the Earth's and moon's
centers is the sum of their radii (radiuses).
Earth's radius . . . . . 6,360 km = 6.36 x 10⁶ meters
Moon's radius . . . . . 1,738 km = 1.738 x 10⁶ meters
Sum of their radii = 8.098 x 10⁶ meters
Also:
Earth's mass . . . . . 5.972 x 10²⁴ kg
Moon's mass . . . . . 7.348 x 10²² kg
and now we're ready to go !
Gravitational force =
G M₁ M₂ / R²
= (6.67 x 10⁻¹¹ N-m²/kg²)(5.972 x 10²⁴ kg)(7.348 x 10²² kg)/(8.098 x 10⁶ m)²
= (6.67 · 5.972 · 7.348 / 8.098²) · (10²³) Newtons
= (I get ...) 4.463 x 10²³ Newtons
That's almost exactly 10²³ pounds
= 50,153,000,000,000,000,000 tons.
Those are big numbers.
All I can say is: I wouldn't exactly call that "resting" on the surface".
