Question

When a moving bus suddenly stops, a person sitting ___________

(a) Stands up

(b) Falls forward

(c) Falls backward

(d) Is unaffected

The question was posed to me during an interview for a job.

This intriguing question comes from Forces in section Laws of Motion of Engineering Physics I

Answer 1

Right option is (b) Falls forward

To elaborate: As the bus stops, the lower part of the person’s body comes to rest along with the bus while the upper part of his body continues to remain in motion due to inertia and therefore the person falls forward.