What happens to the items on the tablecloth when Dr. Hewitt pulls it?

When Dr. Hewitt pulls the tablecloth quickly, the items on the table tend to stay where they were due to inertia, which is a property of matter described by Newton's first law of motion. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist any change in its state of motion.

The items, assuming they are relatively heavy and stable, do not have enough force acting on them from the sudden movement of the tablecloth to cause them to accelerate with it. Therefore, as the tablecloth is pulled away, the items remain nearly in place for a brief moment, effectively staying where they are. This phenomenon demonstrates how inertia works: unless a net force is applied to an object, it will not move from its current position.

Lightweight or unstable items may not follow this behavior and could fall or move, but the question focuses on the general behavior of items that are relatively stationary and stable on the table.