Which of the following actions illustrates Newton's 1st Law?

Newton's 1st Law of Motion states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a net external force. In the context of the given options, the situation of a book sitting on a table perfectly exemplifies this law.

The book is at rest on the table, and there are no unbalanced forces acting upon it. The gravitational force pulling the book downward is exactly balanced by the normal force exerted by the table upward. Therefore, according to Newton's 1st Law, the book will remain in this state of rest until an external force (like a person picking it up or pushing it) causes it to move.

The other scenarios imply the presence of forces that cause changes in motion. A car suddenly stopping involves deceleration due to braking forces, a ball thrown straight up exemplifies motion that changes direction and speed, and a person pushing a stationary box shows interaction with an external force that initiates movement. These actions do not demonstrate the concept of inertia as clearly as the stationary book does.