Physics: First Law of Motion

Study Notes

An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue to move with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.
Inertia: the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion.
Three types of inertia:
1. Rest inertia: the tendency of an object to remain at rest.
2. Motion inertia: the tendency of an object to continue moving.
3. Directional inertia: the tendency of an object to maintain its direction of motion.

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied and inversely proportional to its mass.
Mathematically represented as: F = ma (Force = mass x acceleration)
Implications:
- The more massive an object, the less it will accelerate when a given force is applied.
- The greater the force applied, the greater the resulting acceleration.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When two objects interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
Examples:
- When you push on a wall, the wall pushes back on you with the same force.
- When a car accelerates forward, the ground exerts an equal and opposite force backward on the car.

Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion.
An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue to move with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.
There are three types of inertia:
- Rest inertia: the tendency of an object to remain at rest.
- Motion inertia: the tendency of an object to continue moving.
- Directional inertia: the tendency of an object to maintain its direction of motion.

The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied and inversely proportional to its mass.
The relationship is mathematically represented as: F = ma (Force = mass x acceleration).
The implications of this law are:
- The more massive an object, the less it will accelerate when a given force is applied.
- The greater the force applied, the greater the resulting acceleration.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When two objects interact, they apply forces to one another that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
Examples of the third law include:
- When you push on a wall, the wall pushes back on you with the same force.
- When a car accelerates forward, the ground exerts an equal and opposite force backward on the car.