The picture shows a physics lab set up.

Why does the disc fall straight down into the glass when we quickly pull the index card away from the glass in a horizontal direction?

(1 point)
Responses

static friction
static friction

equilibrium
equilibrium

kinetic friction
kinetic friction

inertia
inertia
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The correct response is inertia.

The disc falls straight down into the glass when we quickly pull the index card away from the glass in a horizontal direction because of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist a change in its motion. When the card is quickly pulled away, the disc tends to stay at rest due to its inertia. As a result, the disc falls straight down into the glass.

When we quickly pull the index card away from the glass in a horizontal direction in this physics lab set up, the disc falls straight down into the glass due to inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.

To understand why the disc falls straight down, we need to consider the forces acting on it. Initially, when the index card is covering the glass and the disc is on top of it, the disc and the card have a static friction between them. Static friction is the force that keeps two objects in contact and at rest relative to each other.

When we pull the card horizontally, we can overcome the static friction between the disc and the card, causing the disc to lose contact with the card and fall down. However, due to its inertia, the disc continues to move in its original downward direction.

This happens because inertia resists changes in motion. In this case, when the disc loses contact with the card, there is no longer any horizontal force acting on it to change its direction of motion. As a result, the disc falls straight down into the glass.

So, the correct answer to why the disc falls straight down into the glass when we quickly pull the index card away in a horizontal direction is "inertia".