The picture shows a physics lab setup.
Why does the disk fall straight down into the glass when the index card is quickly pulled 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 answer is: Inertia
The disk falls straight down into the glass when the index card is quickly pulled away from the glass in a horizontal direction due to inertia.
The disk falls straight down into the glass because of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. When the index card is quickly pulled away from the glass in a horizontal direction, the disk initially stays at rest due to static friction between the disk and the card. However, as the card is pulled away, there is a sudden removal of the force of static friction acting on the disk.
According to Newton's first law of motion, an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force. In this case, once the force of static friction is removed, there is no longer a horizontal force acting on the disk to keep it in place. However, the disk still has its downward inertia, which means that it wants to continue moving in the downward direction it was initially pulled toward.
As a result, the disk falls straight down into the glass rather than moving horizontally with the card. This happens because of the tendency of the disk to remain in its state of motion, or in this case, to continue moving downward due to its inertia. Therefore, the correct answer is "Inertia."