Question

You are a passenger in a car and not wearing your seat belt. Without increasing or decreasing its speed, the car makes a sharp left turn, and you find yourself colliding with the right-hand door. Which is the correct analysis of the situation?a. During the turn, there is a rightward force pushing you into the door. b. During the turn, the door exerts a leftward force on you. c. both of the above. d. neither of the above

Answer 1

The correct analysis of the scenario where a passenger feels a force against the car door during a sharp turn is that the door exerts a leftward force on the passenger (Option B) due to their inertia. There is no real rightward force acting on the passenger; instead, it is the passenger's tendency to continue moving straight while the car turns that leads to the contact with the door.

Step-by-step explanation:

When analyzing the scenario of a passenger in a car experiencing a force during a sharp turn, the correct analysis is that the door exerts a leftward force on the passenger. This is because of Newton's first law, often referred to as the law of inertia. This law states that an object in motion will continue in a straight line at constant speed unless acted upon by a net external force. In the car's frame of reference, the passenger feels a force pushing them towards the door, but in reality, the passenger is simply continuing forward while the car itself turns left, creating a situation where the passenger's body comes into contact with the car door. Therefore, the answer is b. During the turn, the door exerts a leftward force on you.

Answer a, suggesting there is a rightward force pushing you into the door is incorrect because it refers to a fictitious force. The force felt is due to the inertia of the passenger wanting to maintain a straight-line motion while the car turns. The contact force that pushes the passenger is from the door, acting in a leftward direction due to the passenger's inertia, and is considered the real force in this situation.

Answer 2

b) During the turn, the door exerts a leftward force on you.

Step-by-step explanation:

Although at the curve the car makes a turn without deceleration or accelerating, we must consider the fact that the direction of the instantaneous velocity of the car, which is always pointing tangentially away from the curve, is changing, producing a centripetal acceleration (acceleration is the rate of change of velocity) towards the center of the curve. The result is that a force inwards towards the center of the curve from the door, is exerted on you in the leftwards direction when your body collides with the door.