Question

Selvi placed her purse on the passenger's seat of her car when she drove to work. By the time she reached her office, her purse had fallen on the floor in front of the passenger's seat. Why did this happen? Explain.

Answer 1

According to Newton's first law, a body tends to continue in its state of rest or of uniform motion along a straight line, unless an external force acts on it.

When Selvi applied brakes to stop the car, her purse being in a state of motion tends to continue to be in that state due to inertia of motion, and falls off the passenger seat.