Question

As a truck rounds a curve, a box in the bed of the truck slides to the side farthest from the center of the curve. This movement of the box is a result of

Answer 1

The box slides because of inertia — it tends to keep moving straight while the truck turns. To follow the curve the box needs an inward (centripetal) force; if friction between box and truck bed can’t supply that force, the box does not get the inward acceleration and so slides toward the outside. (In the rotating truck frame this is often described as a “centrifugal” pseudo‑force.)