Question

complete the following statement: a force that acts on an object is said to be conservative if
a. it always acts in the direction of motion of the object.
b. the work it does on the object is independent of the path of the motion.
c. the work it does on the object is equal to the increase in the object’s kinetic energy.
d. it obeys newton’s laws of motion.
e. it results in a change in the object’s kinetic energy.

Explanation:

A conservative force is defined such that the work done by it on an object is path - independent. Option a is incorrect as conservative forces don't always act in the direction of motion. Option c is the work - energy theorem which is not the definition of a conservative force. Option d is about Newton's laws which are not related to the definition of conservative forces. Option e is also related to the work - energy concept and not the definition of conservative forces.

Answer:

B. the work it does on the object is independent of the path of the motion.