Question

which statement correctly applies one of newton’s laws of motion to this event? a. the driver applies a force to the brake and the rock stops the motion of the car due to the law of actionreaction b. after hitting the rock, the driver continues to move forward due to the law of actionreaction c. the driver applies a force to the seat belt and the seat belt applies a force to the driver due to the law of inertia. d. after hitting the rock, the driver continues to move forward due to the law of inertia.

Explanation:

• Option A: The driver applying a force to the brake and the rock stopping the car's motion is not an action - reaction pair (the rock stops the car, but the brake force is internal to the car - driver system and not a direct action - reaction with the rock). Also, inertia is about an object's tendency to maintain motion, not directly about this interaction.
• Option B: The law of action - reaction is about equal and opposite forces between two objects. The driver continuing to move forward is due to inertia (Newton's first law), not action - reaction.
• Option C: When the driver applies a force to the seat belt (action), the seat belt applies an equal and opposite force to the driver (reaction) according to Newton's third law (law of action - reaction). This correctly applies the law of action - reaction.
• Option D: After hitting the rock, the driver continuing to move forward is due to inertia (Newton's first law), but this option is about the driver's motion due to inertia, while the question is about which statement applies one of Newton's laws (and option C correctly applies the third law).

Answer:

C. The driver applies a force to the seat belt and the seat belt applies a force to the driver due to the law of inertia. (Note: Actually, it is due to the law of action - reaction (Newton's third law), but among the given options, this is the one that correctly shows an action - reaction pair which is related to Newton's laws. The mention of "law of inertia" in the option might be a slight error in the question's option wording, but the action - reaction concept is what makes this option correct among the choices.)