Asked by sara

The picture shows a physics lab set up.

image

When the index card is quickly pulled away from the glass in a horizontal direction, why does the disk fall straight down into the glass?

A.
equilibrium

B.
static friction

C.
kinetic friction

D.
inertia

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
D. inertia

The disk tends to maintain its initial state of motion (nearly at rest). When the card is yanked away quickly there is little time/impulse from friction to give the disk horizontal velocity, so it stays essentially in place and falls straight down under gravity (Newton’s first law).