Directions: Read the Assertion (A) and Reason (R) carefully and choose the correct alternative. Assertion (A): When a bus starts suddenly from rest and moves forward, a person standing inside the bus falls forward. Reason (R): The bus pushes the person standing inside forward when it starts.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests understanding of Newton s first law of motion, also called the law of inertia. Everyday examples involving buses or trains starting or stopping are commonly used to illustrate inertia of rest and inertia of motion. The question presents an Assertion about the direction in which a person falls when a bus starts and a Reason claiming the cause. We must carefully check both the direction mentioned and the explanation based on inertia, not just accept the daily life wording.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• A person is initially standing inside a bus that is at rest.
• The bus then starts suddenly and moves forward.
• Assertion (A) claims the person falls forward.
• Reason (R) claims that the bus pushes the person forward.
• We apply Newton s first law which states that a body at rest tends to remain at rest unless acted upon by a net external force.

Concept / Approach:
When a vehicle starts moving forward suddenly, the lower part of the passenger s body, which is in contact with the floor, experiences frictional force and moves forward with the bus. However, the upper part of the body tends to remain in its original state of rest due to inertia. As a result, relative to the bus, the upper body lags behind and the person appears to fall backward. A similar reasoning applies when the bus stops suddenly. The key is to visualise which parts of the body are in contact, which forces act, and what inertia does.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Initially the bus and the person are both at rest relative to the ground. Step 2: When the bus starts and moves forward quickly, the floor of the bus exerts a forward frictional force on the feet of the person. Step 3: The lower part of the body, which is in contact with the floor, begins to move forward with the bus. Step 4: The upper part of the body tends to remain in its original state of rest due to inertia, so relative to the bus, it seems to move backward compared to the feet. Step 5: As a result, the person appears to fall backward, not forward as stated in the Assertion. Therefore, Assertion (A) is false. Step 6: Reason (R) claims that the bus pushes the person forward. The true cause is inertia of the person s upper body, not a simple forward push producing a forward fall. Therefore Reason (R) is also false as an explanation of the observed effect.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you recall personal experiences in buses or metro trains, when the vehicle starts suddenly, passengers tend to lose balance backward. When the vehicle brakes suddenly, they tend to lurch forward. This matches the explanation based on inertia and contradicts both the direction stated in the Assertion and the mechanism claimed in the Reason. Textbooks also present these exact examples with diagrams to show the direction of apparent fall.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Any option that treats Assertion (A) as true cannot be correct because the direction of fall is opposite in reality. Options claiming that Reason (R) is true or that it correctly explains the Assertion are also wrong, since the root cause is inertia, not the bus pushing the person to make them fall forward.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes rely on vague memory of similar statements without visualising the situation. A helpful method is to imagine the person s feet suddenly moved forward while the upper body tries to stay where it was. This mental picture immediately shows that the person will fall backward when the bus starts and forward when the bus stops.

Final Answer:
Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are false, so the correct option is Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are false.