CritABCD
A.2 · 1 · A.2 Forces and momentum · Newton’s laws

Newton's first law

The law of inertia: no net force, no change in motion.

SL+HLEasier12 minFree
Hook

A puck glides across smooth ice and hardly slows down. What is pushing it along?

Newton’s first law
1 / 4

Name, words, maths

Newton's first law
1What it is called
Law of inertia
inertia: the property that resists a change in motion
2In words

“An object at rest, or in motion, stays that way until a net external force acts on it.”

3In maths
  1. If Fnet,ext = 0
  2. then Δv = 0
  3. and a = 0
no net force, no change in velocity
Check 1 of 3

A trolley moves at constant velocity on a level track. The net external force on it is…

Check 2 of 3

Which property of an object resists a change in its motion?

Check 3 of 3

A bus stops suddenly and passengers lurch forward. The best explanation is…

Apply

A puck on frictionless ice is pushed and then released. Describe its motion after release and explain it with Newton’s first law.

Your writing is saved on this device.
Remember earlier lessons
From lesson A.1 · 1

Motion is described…

From lesson 0.5

The unit newton in base units is…

Summary card

Key points

  • • No net external force means no change in velocity.
  • • Inertia is the property that resists a change in motion.
  • • A moving object does not need a force to keep moving.

Formulas

  • If Fnet,ext = 0 then Δv = 0 and a = 0

Key terms

Inertia
:
the property that resists a change in motion
Net external force
:
the total force from outside the object

Common errors

  • • Thinking constant motion needs a constant force.
  • • Forgetting that direction counts as part of velocity.
Checks solved: 0 of 3