ACC ICP Dr.

Gilmore

Name: ____________________ Date: __________ Period: ____ Newtons First Law of Motion

Newtons First Law of Motion is also known as the law of inertia. Newtons first law is often stated as: An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force. So, when there is no net force, a stationary object will remain stationary, and a moving object will remain moving. No Net Force

Objects at Rest

Objects in Motion

Stay at Rest

Stay in Motion

The behavior of all objects can be described by saying that objects tend to keep on doing what theyre doing (unless acted upon by a net force). If at rest, they will continue in the same state of rest. If in motion with an eastward velocity of 5 m/s, they will continue in this same state of motion (5 m/s to the east). The state of motion of an object is maintained as long as a net force does not act upon the object. All objects resist changes in their state of motion they tend to keep on doing what theyre doing. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia. Inertia is the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion. 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! The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion is dependent upon its mass. Inertia is a quantity that is solely dependent upon mass. The more mass an object has, the more inertia it has the more tendency it has to resist changes in its state of motion.

Applications of Newtons First Law of Motion There are many applications of Newtons first law of motion. Consider some of your experiences in an automobile. Have you ever observed the behavior of coffee in a coffee cup filled to the rim while starting a car from rest or while bringing a car to rest from a state of motion? Coffee tends to keep on doing what it is doing. When you accelerate a car from rest, the road provides a net force on the spinning wheels to push the car forward; yet the coffee (which is at rest) wants to stay at rest. While the car accelerates forward, the coffee remains in the same position; as a result, the car accelerates out from under the coffee and the coffee spills onto your lap. On the other hand, when braking from a state of motion the coffee continues to move forward with the same speed and in the same direction, ultimately hitting the windshield or the dashboard. Coffee in motion tends to stay in motion. There are many more applications of Newtons first law of motion. Several applications are listed below try to provide explanations for each application. blood rushes from your head to your feet when riding on a descending elevator which suddenly stops. the head of a hammer can be tightened onto the wooden handle by banging the bottom of the handle against a hard surface. a brick is painlessly broken over your hand by slamming the brick with a hammer. (CAUTION: Do not try this at home!) to dislodge ketchup from the bottom of a ketchup bottle, the bottle is often turned upside down, thrust downward at a high speed and then abruptly halted. headrests are placed in cars to prevent whiplash injuries during rear-end collisions. while riding a skateboard (or wagon or bicycle), you fly forward off the board when hitting a curb, a rock or another object which abruptly halts the motion of the skateboard. Can you think of a few more examples that further illustrate applications of Newtons first law?

Net Force According to Newtons first law, an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force. But what exactly is a net force? In pursuit of this answer, consider your science textbook at rest on a tabletop. There are two forces acting upon the book. One force the Earths gravitational pull exerts a downward force. The second force the push of the table on the book (referred to as the normal or support force) pushes upward on the book.
The table pushes upward on the book

Physical Science
Gravity pulls downward on the book

There is no net force acting on the book.

Since these two forces are of equal magnitude and in opposite directions (remember vectors?), they balance each other. The book is said to be at equilibrium. There is no net force acting upon the book (!F = 0), and thus the book will keep on doing what it is doing it will stay at rest. Consider another example of a person standing on the ground. There are two forces acting upon the person. The force of gravity exerts a downward force. The push of the floor exerts an upward force. Since these two forces are of equal magnitude and in opposite directions, they balance each other. The person is at equilibrium. There is no net force acting upon the person, and thus the person stays at rest. So, a net force (!F) is the total force the combination of all the forces that act on an object. When the net force on something is zero (!F = 0), we say that something is in equilibrium.

Newtons first law of motion declares that an object in motion will stay in motion. However, if you slide a book across a table, youll notice that it comes to a stop. Therefore, there must be a net force present. The force of friction brings the book to a halt. In the absence of this frictional force, the book would continue in motion with the same speed and in the same direction forever! (Or at least to the end of the tabletop.)

Frictional force

The table pushes upward on the book

Physical Science
Gravity pulls downward on the book

Now there is a net force acting on the book.

The force of gravity pulling downward and the force of the table pushing upward on the book are of equal magnitude and in opposite directions. Therefore, these two forces balance each other. However, there is no force present to balance the force of friction. Thus, there is a net force. As the book slides across a table from left to right, the force of friction acts on the book to slow it down and bring it to rest.