Which situation most effectively illustrates an instance of Newton's first law of motion?

Question

A. A shopping cart experiences acceleration when force is applied to it by pushing.
B. A car's passenger moves in the forward direction when the car comes to an abrupt stop.
C. A man shoves a canoe from the shore into the water.
D. A rocket takes off from a launch platform.

Answer 1

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

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

Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. In this case, when the car stops suddenly, the passenger's body tends to continue moving forward due to inertia, demonstrating the principle of Newton's first law.