what is newtons first law
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Newton's first law of motion, also known as the law of inertia, 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 direction, unless acted upon by an external force.
To further understand Newton's first law, let's break it down into simpler terms:
1. Object at rest: When an object is not moving, it will remain stationary unless something causes it to move. This could be because there are no forces acting upon it.
2. Object in motion: When an object is already in motion, it will continue moving in a straight line with a constant speed unless there is an external force acting on it.
3. Inertia: Inertia refers to an object's resistance to change in its state of motion. Objects with more mass have greater inertia, meaning they require more force to start, stop, or change their motion compared to objects with less mass.
To apply Newton's first law to real-life situations, consider the following examples:
- If you push a book on a table, it eventually comes to a stop due to the frictional force between the book and the table. Once the pushing force is removed, the book wouldn't continue moving on its own.
- When riding a bicycle and suddenly braking, your body jerks forward. This is because your body tends to keep moving forward due to its inertia even when the bike slows down or stops.
To summarize, Newton's first law describes the behavior of objects when no external forces act upon them or when the forces acting on them are balanced.