Question

while sitting in a car that starts to make a turn, you feel as if you are being pushed to the side of the car. this is commonly called centrifugal force, but it is a fictitious force. which statement best describes what you are experiencing as centrifugal force?
you feel centripetal acceleration and your mind makes up a force to oppose this motion.
according to newtons third law, centrifugal force arises as a reaction force to the centripetal force.
according to newtons first law, your inertia makes you continue moving forward in straight - line motion, but the car restricts this tendency.
your inertia tends to oppose the centripetal force by moving in a circular path in the opposite direction to that in which the car is turning.

Explanation:

• Newton's first law (law of inertia) states that an object at rest or in uniform motion will remain so unless acted upon by an external force.
• When the car turns, the person's body (due to inertia) wants to continue moving in a straight - line (the original motion before the turn). The car (as it turns) exerts a centripetal force (restricts the person's straight - line motion tendency).
• Centrifugal force is a fictitious force. It is not a real force in an inertial frame. It is just the manifestation of the body's inertia opposing the change in motion (the turn, which requires a centripetal force).
• For the first option: Centripetal acceleration is real ( \(a = \frac{v^{2}}{r}\) in circular motion), but centrifugal force is not a force created by the mind to oppose centripetal acceleration. It is related to inertia.
• For the second option: Newton's third - law action - reaction pairs act on different objects. Centripetal force (e.g., friction between car tires and road for the car's turn, or normal force on the person in the car) and centrifugal force (fictitious) do not form a Newton's third - law pair.
• For the fourth option: Inertia makes the body want to move in a straight - line (not in a circular path in the opposite direction).

Answer:

According to Newton's first law, your inertia makes you continue moving forward in straight - line motion, but the car restricts this tendency.