Whirl a rock at the end of a string and it follows a circular path. If the string breaks, the tendency of the rock is to
(1pts)
tangent to the path
If the string breaks while the rock is being whirled at the end, the tendency of the rock is to move in a straight line due to its inertia.
If the string breaks, the rock will continue to move in a straight line tangent to the circular path it was following before the string broke. This is because of Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia.
To understand why the rock moves in a straight line when the string breaks, we need to consider the forces acting on the rock during its circular motion. When the rock is whirled around in a circular path, there is a tension force acting on it that provides the centripetal force necessary to keep it moving in a circle. This tension force is provided by the string.
However, when the string breaks, the tension force is no longer acting on the rock. According to Newton's first law of motion, an object in motion will continue moving in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by an external force. In this case, the rock will continue moving in a straight line because there is no longer a force (tension) acting to change its path.
So, the tendency of the rock when the string breaks is to continue moving in a straight line tangent to the circular path it was following before the string broke.