What would happen if the planets stopped moving and the only force acting on them were from the sun?
A. The planets would be pulled into the sun due to the force of gravity and inertia no longer being balanced
B. The planets would fly away from the sun at a constant speed in a straight line
A. The planets would be pulled into the sun due to the force of gravity and inertia no longer being balanced.
In this scenario, the planets would no longer have the centripetal force necessary to keep them in orbit around the sun. Gravity from the sun would cause the planets to accelerate towards it, resulting in them ultimately being pulled into the sun. This is because inertia (the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion) would no longer be counteracted by the centripetal force, leading to the planets falling directly towards the sun.