Question

how are all three of newtons laws demonstrated in the drop tower ride?
select the correct answer in each row.
motion example
the passenger vehicle and gravity exert equal and opposite forces before gravity is overcome as the vehicle travels into the air.
first law
second law
third law
the passenger vehicle stays at the bottom of the tower until pulled upwards by the ride engine.
the greater the mass of the passenger vehicle, the faster it will fall.
source: wikimedia commons

Explanation:

• First Law (Law of Inertia): The passenger vehicle stays at the bottom of the tower until pulled upwards by the ride engine. An object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an external force (the engine's pull here).
• Third Law: The passenger vehicle and gravity exert equal and opposite forces before gravity is overcome as the vehicle travels into the air. For every action (vehicle's push against gravity), there is an equal and opposite reaction (gravity's pull on the vehicle).
• Second Law is not demonstrated here: The statement “The greater the mass of the passenger vehicle, the faster it will fall” is incorrect. According to \(F = ma\) (Second Law, where \(F = mg\) for gravitational force, \(m\) is mass and \(g\) is acceleration due to gravity), in a vacuum, all objects fall at the same rate (\(a = g\)), and with air - resistance, acceleration is \(a=\frac{mg - F_{air}}{m}=g-\frac{F_{air}}{m}\), so more massive objects may have higher terminal velocities but the initial acceleration assumption in the statement is wrong.

Answer:

First Law: The passenger vehicle stays at the bottom of the tower until pulled upwards by the ride engine.
Third Law: The passenger vehicle and gravity exert equal and opposite forces before gravity is overcome as the vehicle travels into the air.