Which situation most effectively illustrates an instance of Newton's first law of motion?(1 point)

Question

Responses

A man shoves a canoe from the shore into the water.
A man shoves a canoe from the shore into the water.

A car's passenger moves in the forward direction when the car comes to an abrupt stop.
A car's passenger moves in the forward direction when the car comes to an abrupt stop.

A rocket takes off from a launch platform.
A rocket takes off from a launch platform.

A shopping cart experiences acceleration when force is applied to it by pushing.
A shopping cart experiences acceleration when force is applied to it by pushing.

Answer 1

The situation that most effectively illustrates an instance of Newton's first law of motion is:

A car's passenger moves in the forward direction when the car comes to an abrupt stop.

Newton's first law, often called the law of inertia, states that an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity unless acted upon by a net external force. When the car stops suddenly, the passenger continues to move forward due to inertia until a force (like the seatbelt or the dashboard) acts on them to stop their motion.