A rubber balloon is blown up and released, causing it to fly around the room. What principle does this illustrate?

The scenario of a rubber balloon being blown up and then released illustrates Newton's Third Law of Motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the air is blown into the balloon, it fills with air and creates internal pressure. Upon release, the air rushes out of the opening of the balloon. This action of the air escaping exerts a force in one direction, while the balloon moves in the opposite direction due to the reaction to that force. This principle helps explain how the balloon flies around the room as the escaping air propels it forward.

The other laws of motion, such as the first and second, focus on different aspects of motion and forces. The first law primarily addresses inertia and the resistance of objects to changes in their state of motion. The second law deals with the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. The law of inertia, while related to the first law, specifically addresses an object's tendency to maintain its current state of motion unless acted upon by an external force. In this specific example, the action-reaction pairs as described in the third law are the most relevant to the balloon's behavior when released.