Motion (Forces)

Newton’s First Law

 Newton’s First Law of Motion

– An object at rest will remain at rest
and an object in motion will continue
moving at a constant velocity unless
acted upon by a net force.
What is Force?
 A Force is a push or a pull that
one body exerts on another.

 Not all forces are noticeable

– Ex. Force of the atmosphere, force
of floor on your feet, force of gravity
on your body.
Changing Motion
 A force can cause the motion of
an object to change
 Ex. Playing tennis
 Racket hits the ball, causing it to
stop and move in the opposite
direction
 Velocity was changed when the
force was applied to the moving
ball.
Balanced Forces

**Force does not always change

velocity.
 Some forces are balanced
– Ex. Two people pushing on a box.
– Both people are applying equal
force but in the opposite direction.
– When two or more forces act on an
object at the same time, the forces
combine to form the net force.
Unbalanced Forces

– Ex. When two students are pushing

a box with unbalanced force, the
student who applies greater force
will cause the box to move in the
direction of the force.
– Net force will be calculated as the
difference in the two forces
(subtracting).
– Ex. When the students are both
pushing a box in the same direction,
the forces are combined.
– The net force is calculated by adding
the two forces.
Inertia & Mass
 Inertia is the tendency of an
object to resist any change in its
motion.
 Mass is the amount of matter in
an object.
 Ex. Bowling ball vs. Tennis ball
– More mass means more force
needed to change an object’s
motion.
 The more mass an object has, the
greater its inertia.
 LAW OF INERTIA
– According to Newton, an object
moving at a constant velocity keeps
moving at a constant velocity unless
a force acts on it.
– An object at rest will remain at rest.
What happens in a
crash?
 When a vehicle comes to a
sudden stop, the person moves
the same speed the car was
traveling.
– Ex. Car crashes at 55 mph; person
would move at the same speed.