---
title: "A box rests on the (frictionless) bed of a truck. The truck driver starts the truck and accelerates forward. The box immediately starts to slide toward the rear of the truck bed. Discuss the motion of the box, in terms of Newton’s laws, as seen by Mary standing on the ground beside the truck and by Chris who is riding on the truck."
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/100555/"
date_modified: "2025-09-12T02:51:16+00:00"
---

# A box rests on the (frictionless) bed of a truck. The truck driver starts the truck and accelerates forward. The box immediately starts to slide toward the rear of the truck bed. Discuss the motion of the box, in terms of Newton’s laws, as seen by Mary standing on the ground beside the truck and by Chris who is riding on the truck.

A box rests on the (frictionless) bed of a truck. The truck driver starts the truck and accelerates forward. The box immediately starts to slide toward the rear of the truck bed.

**Part a)** Describe the motion of the box in terms of Newton’s laws as observed by Mary who is standing on the ground beside the truck. *(3 points)*

**Part b)** Describe the motion of the box in terms of Newton’s laws as observed by Chris who is riding on the truck. *(3 points)*


*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/100555/*