The figure shows a table where some cutlery is placed on top of a table cloth. When the table cloth is pulled quickly, it is possible that the cutlery lands directly on the same spot on the table and does not get carried away with the cloth. Which of the following serves as a reasonable explanation?
Correct answer: C. The quick pulling action combined with the cutlery's inertia prevents any substantial movement of the cutlery.
- A. The rapid pulling of the table cloth causes the plates and cloth to become charged with static electricity. This repulsion of like charges creates a levitation force that subtly lifts the cutlery.
- B. The cloth is slippery and offers no friction, allowing it to be easily pulled out from under the cutlery.
- C. The quick pulling action combined with the cutlery's inertia prevents any substantial movement of the cutlery.
- D. The cutlery remains in the same position due to the gravitational force holding it down.
Explanation
The main reason the cutlery remains in place when the table cloth is pulled quickly is due to inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes to its state of motion. When the cloth is pulled swiftly, the cutlery's inertia helps it stay in its original position because the force exerted by the friction between the cloth and the cutlery is minimized due to the high speed of the action. In contrast, if the cloth is pulled slowly, the frictional force would have enough time to act on the cutlery, potentially moving it along with the cloth. Therefore, options C and D are incorrect, as they incorrectly attribute the cutlery's stable position to factors other than inertia.
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Scientific reasoning evaluates hypotheses through observations, variables, controls, measurements and experimental results. Questions involve identifying independent and dependent variables, recognising a fair test, interpreting tables or graphs, distinguishing evidence from opinion, and deciding whether data supports, rejects or leaves a hypothesis unresolved.
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