Who Needs Airbags? Trivia Quiz

Answer: The law of inertia

Newton's first law, that of inertia, states that an object in motion tends to remain in motion, unless acted upon by another force. For example, in a car crash, the car is brought to a sudden stop. However, YOU continue moving forward until another force acts upon you -- hopefully, the airbag!

Answer: No; the air did move forward during the crash -- you just didn't notice it.

All objects with matter have inertia. Period, no questions asked. Since the air has an extremely small mass compared to, say, the car, it moves forward relatively little, but the air DID move forward.

Answer: Double your input force.

After you have equalized any difference in speed from the added bricks (assuming they were not dumped on you at the same speed you were already moving at), inertia would let you continue at that speed with zero force if it were not for friction. Doubling the mass will double the friction resisting your movement, so you will need twice the force to keep going. (Note that doubling the mass will also double the weight, regardless of the strength of gravity).

Answer: has an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton's third law states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For example, if I am in a rolling chair and I push the desk, the desk pushes back on me, resulting in backwards motion.

Answer: No

Sadly, no. When the pigeons are airborne, they are not weighing down the truck. However, when they take flight, they are essentially pushing air down, which in turn pushes them up. The air they push down hits the bottom of the trailer and weighs down the truck, resulting in no net loss in weight.

Answer: gravitation

While it's true that all objects with mass have density, volume and gravitation, Newton's first law states gravitation specifically. What Newton means is that every object has some degree of influencing objects around it. A rock will not have as much as, say, the Earth, but it's still something.

Answer: The boulder's force of gravity on the Earth.

As the boulder falls, it exerts a force on the Earth equal to the force the Earth is exerting on it. However, since the Earth has a much greater mass, its motion is affected much less than the boulder's.

Answer: Because the forces are exerted on different objects.

The recoil of the gun fires backward and pushes you, but the explosion of the gunpowder also propels the gun forward. However, the bullet moves much faster than you because it weighs much less, and thus the same force moves it much farther (remember, F=MA).

Answer: All of the laws

ALL of Newton's laws determine this. The first law is the force the car has to overcome to begin accelerating. The second law determines the force the car exerts on the brick wall. And the third law is the very reason the car accelerates -- the tires push against the road, which exerts an equal force on the tire. You aren't really driving -- you're being pushed by the street!

Answer: There was none.

Newton had no such law! And in case you're wondering, "pharology" is the study of lighthouses! No, really. Thanks for playing my first quiz, and I hope you learned something (at the very least, tell your mom you want to be a pharologist when you grow up).