Question

A toy car is tied to a post with string, causing it to drive in a tight circle. This is shown in the picture below.

In which direction will the toy car go if the string breaks?
a. D
b. B
c. C
d. A

Answer 1

If the string breaks, the toy car will go in a direction tangential to the circle at the point where the string breaks, due to Newton's First Law of Motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

When the toy car that is tied to a post with a string and driving in a circle has its string break, it will continue in the direction tangential to the circle at the point where the string breaks.

This is because of Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that an object in motion will stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

In the absence of the string, which provided the centripetal force necessary to keep the toy car moving in a circle, there is no longer anything pulling it toward the center, so it moves in a straight line from the point of release.