According to Newton's First Law of Motion, also known as the law of inertia, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force.
In this scenario, when the truck slams on the brakes, the box, originally in motion along with the truck, will tend to continue moving forward due to its inertia. However, the force of the brakes acting in the opposite direction will exert an external force on the box.
As a result, the box will experience a force opposing its initial motion, causing it to slow down and potentially come to a stop depending on the braking force and the coefficient of friction between the box and the truck bed.
If the braking force is greater than or equal to the force required to overcome the inertia of the box, the box will eventually come to a halt relative to the truck. On the other hand, if the braking force is insufficient, the box may continue to slide forward, potentially colliding with the truck's rear or any other obstruction in its path.
It is important to note that in this situation, there might be other forces at play such as air resistance, which could oppose the motion of the box to some extent. However, the primary force influencing the motion of the box when the truck slams on the brakes is the force exerted by the brakes.
Explain according to Newton’s First Law what will happen to the box when the truck slams on the brakes? Make sure to discuss the force(s) acting on the box.
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