Ms. Cherian wanted to demonstrate Newton’s first law of motion to her students. She kept a long cloth on a table and a cup on the center of the cloth and then asked her students to perform a few activities or experiments. Which of the following would be relevant to her purpose?

Options

A. Ask one student to pull the cloth and another student to hold the cup, and see what happens.
B. Ask one student to pull the cloth slowly and see what happens, and another student to then pull the cloth quickly and see what happens.
C. Ask one student to pull the cloth from one side and another student to pull the cloth from the opposite side, with equal strength, and see what happens.
D. Ask one student to pull the cloth from one side and another student to pull the cup from the opposite side and see what happens.

Answer

To demonstrate Newton's first law of motion, Ms. Cherian can conduct the following steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Setup the Experiment**:
- Place a long cloth on a table with a cup positioned at the center. Ensure that the cloth is smooth and the cup is stable.

2. **Explain Newton's First Law**:
- Introduce Newton's first law of motion, which states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

3. **Perform the Activity**:
- Ask a student to quickly pull the cloth from underneath the cup. This action should be done swiftly to minimize the effect of friction.

4. **Observe the Result**:
- After the cloth is pulled, the cup should remain in its position on the table due to inertia, demonstrating that it resists changes to its state of motion (it stays at rest).

5. **Discuss the Observations**:
- Discuss with the students why the cup did not move when the cloth was pulled. Emphasize the concept of inertia and how it relates to Newton's first law.

6. **Repeat the Experiment**:
- Optionally, repeat the experiment with different objects (like a small ball or a toy) to further illustrate the concept of inertia and how different masses may behave differently.