a balloon floats inside a stopped car. When the cars starts moving forward, the balloon appears to move backward relative to the car. Which statement best explains this observation?
a The car moves forward, while inertia keeps the balloon in place.
b The force of inertia on the balloon balances the force from the motion of the car.
c Inertia prevents the force of the car from acting on the balloon
d The motion of the car creates an unbalanced backward force on the balloon
b The force of inertia on the balloon balances the force from the motion of the car.
The correct statement that best explains this observation is:
c) Inertia prevents the force of the car from acting on the balloon.
Explanation: When the car starts moving forward, the air inside the car, including the balloon, tends to remain at rest due to inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. As a result, the car's force of motion does not directly act on the balloon, causing it to appear to move backward relative to the car.
To understand the observation of the balloon appearing to move backward relative to the car when the car starts moving forward, we need to consider Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia. According to this law, an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and direction, unless acted upon by an external force.
In this scenario, when the car is at rest, the balloon floats inside the car without any external force acting on it. However, when the car starts moving forward, an external force is exerted on the balloon due to the motion of the car.
The key concept to understand here is inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. The balloon, while floating inside the car, has its own inertia. When the car starts moving forward, the balloon has a tendency to resist this change in motion due to its inertia. As a result, the balloon appears to move backward relative to the car.
So, the correct answer to the question is (a) "The car moves forward, while inertia keeps the balloon in place." This statement explains that the car's motion is in one direction, but due to the balloon's inertia, it appears to move backward relative to the car.