Question

A car is going 70 MPH down the road and hits a tree. The passenger is not wearing a seatbelt and goes through the windshield, explain why the driver remained in the car and the passenger did not. Be sure reference Newton’s first law in your explanation

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

The driver was able to stay in the car because he or she had a seat belt on, the passenger did not have a seat belt on, therefore they were not able to stay in the car. Newton’s first law states “An object in motion stays in motion unless acted on by another force”. Therefore the passenger was yoinked out of the car.

Answer 2

Inertia is the reason that people in cars need to wear seat belts. Instead, the riders continue moving forward with most of their original speed because of their inertia. If the driver is wearing a seat belt, the seat belt rather than the windshield applies the unbalanced force that stops the driver's forward motion.