Lesson 1: Newton's First Law of Motion

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Inertia and Mass

Newton's first law of motion states that "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." Objects "tend to keep on doing what they're doing." In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia.

Inertia = the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion.

Newton's conception of inertia stood in direct opposition to more popular conceptions about motion. The dominant thought prior to Newton's day was that it was the natural tendency of objects to come to a rest position. Moving objects, so it was believed, would eventually stop moving; a force was necessary to keep an object moving. But if left to itself, a moving object would eventually come to rest and an object at rest would stay at rest; thus, the idea which dominated people's thinking for nearly 2000 years prior to Newton was that it was the natural tendency of all objects to assume a rest position.

Galileo, the premier scientist of the seventeenth century, developed the concept of inertia. Galileo reasoned that moving objects eventually stop because of a force called friction. In experiments using a pair of inclined planes facing each other, Galileo observed that a ball will roll down one plane and up the opposite plane to approximately the same height. If smoother planes were used, the ball would roll up the opposite plane even closer to the original height. Galileo reasoned that any difference between initial and final heights was due to the presence of friction. Galileo postulated that if friction could be entirely eliminated, then the ball would reach exactly the same height.

Galileo further observed that regardless of the angle at which the planes were oriented, the final height was almost always equal to the initial height. If the slope of the opposite incline was reduced, then the ball would roll a further distance in order to reach that original height.

Galileo's reasoning continued - if the opposite incline was elevated at nearly a 0-degree angle, then the ball would roll almost forever in an effort to reach the original height. And if the opposing incline was not even inclined at all (that is, if it were oriented along the horizontal) , then ... an object in motion would continue in motion... .

Isaac Newton built on Galileo's thoughts about motion. Newton's first law of motion declares that a force is not needed to keep an object in motion. Slide a book across a table and watch it slide to a rest position. The book in motion on the table top does not come to a rest position because of the absence of a force; rather it is the presence of a force - that force being the force of friction - which brings the book to a rest position. In the absence of a force of friction, the book would continue in motion with the same speed and direction - forever! (Or at least to the end of the table top.) A force is not required to keep a moving book in motion; in actuality, it is a force which brings the book to rest.

All objects resist changes in their state of motion. All objects have this tendency - they have inertia. But do some objects have more of a tendency to resist changes than others? Absolutely yes! The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion is dependent upon mass. Inertia is that quantity which is solely dependent upon mass. The more mass which an object has, the more inertia it has - the more tendency it has to resist changes in its state of motion.

A common physics demonstration relies on this principle that the more massive the object, the more that object tends to resist changes in its state of motion. The demonstration goes as follows: several massive books are placed upon the teachers head. A wooden board is placed on top of the books and a hammer is used to drive a nail into the board. Due to the large mass of the books, the force of the hammer is sufficiently resisted (inertia). This is demonstrated by the fact that the hammer blow is not felt by the teacher. A common variation of this demonstration involves braking a brick over the teacher's hand using the swift blow of a hammer. The masive bricks resist the force and the hand is not hurt. (CAUTION: do not try these demonstrations at home.)

Test Your Understanding

Read the following questions and prredict the answer. Then depress the mouse on the pop-up menu to view the answer.

1. Imagine a place in the cosmos far from all gravitational and frictional influences. Suppose that an astronaut in that place throws a rock. The rock will

1. gradually stop.
2. continue in motion in the same direction at constant speed.
   

Depress mouse to view answer. The answer is b. According to Newton's first law, the rock will continue in motion in the same direction at constant speed.

2. Kris and Kean are arguing in the cafeteria. Kris says that if he flings the jello with a greater speed it will have a greater inertia. Kean argues that inertia does not depend upon speed, but rather upon mass. Who do you agree with? Explain why.

Depress mouse to see answer. Kean is correct. Inertia is that quantity which depends solely upon mass. The more mass, the more inertia.

3. If you were in space in a weightless enviroment, would it require a force to set an object in motion?

Depress mouse to see answer. Absolutely yes! Even in space objects have mass; and if they have mass, they have inertia. That is, an object in space resists changes in its state of motion. A force must be applied to set a stationary object in motion. Newton's laws rule - everywhere!

4. Mr. Kaplinski spends most Sunday afternoons at rest on the sofa, watching pro football games and consuming large quantities of food. What effect (if any) does this practice have upon his inertia? Explain.

Depress mouse to see answer. Mr.Kaplinski's inertia will increase! Mr.Kaplinski will increase his mass if he makes a habit of this; and if his mass increases, then his inertia increases. (Of course, one look at Mr.Kaplinski and you know that this IS a regular habit.)

5. Ben is being chased through the woods by a bull moose which he was attempting to photograph. The enormous mass of the bull moose is extremely intimidating. Yet, if Ben makes a zig-zag pattern through the woods, he will be able to use the large mass of the moose to his own advantage. Why?

Depress mouse to see answer. The large mass of the bull moose means that the bull moose has a large inertia. Thus, Ben can more easily change his own state of motion (make quick changes in direction) while the moose has extreme difficulty changing its state of motion. Physics for better living!

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Lesson 1: Newton's First Law of Motion

• Newton's First Law
• Inertia and Mass
• State of Motion
• Balanced and Unbalanced Forces
  

Go to Lesson 2