SHS

Physical Science
Activity Sheet
Quarter 2 – MELC 6
Week 2
Universal Laws of Physics:
Galileo and Newton’s Inertia

REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS

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Physical Science
Activity Sheet No. 6- Universal Laws of Physics: Galileo and Newton’s Inertia
First Edition, 2020

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Introductory Message
Welcome to Physical Science!

The Learning Activity Sheet is a product of the collaborative efforts of the

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The Physical Science Activity Sheet will help you facilitate the leaching-
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the assessments. This will be returned to your facilitator on the agreed schedule

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Name of Learner: ___________________________________________________
Grade and Section: ______________________________Date: ________________

PHYSICAL SCIENCE ACTIVITY SHEET No. 6

Universal Laws of Physics: Galileo and Newton’s Inertia

I. Learning Competency with Code

Explain the subtle distinction between Newton’s 1st Law of Motion (or Law of Inertia)
and Galileo’s assertion that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion.
(S11/12PS-IVd-51)

II. Background Information for Learners

By now, you are very much knowledgeable about Aristotle and Galileo’s ideas
regarding motion. You have learned previously that Galileo was concerned with how
things move rather than why they move - this is of course contrary to Aristotle’s focus
which is more on the cause of motion. He showed that experiment, not logic, is the
best test of knowledge. Galileo’s findings about motion and his concept of inertia
discredited Aristotle’s theory of motion. Today, you will learn more about motion,
particularly, how Newton built on Galileo’s ideas and how the way was opened for
Isaac Newton to synthesize a new vision of the universe. The table below summarizes
the differences between Newton’s 1st Law of Motion (or Law of Inertia) and Galileo’s
assertion that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion.

Galileo’s Horizontal Motion Newton’s Law of Inertia

In an experiment in which he let a
perfectly round ball roll down an inclined
surface, Galileo was able to observe the
following:
✓ as the ball rolls down the inclined
plane, it speeds up
✓ as the ball rolls up the inclined
plane, it slows down
✓ on perfectly completely horizontal
plane, the ball neither speed up nor
slow down
Galileo claimed that under ideal
conditions, that is in the absence of
friction or air resistance (this means that
no force will cause a change in motion),
the ball would continue rolling up to a
height above the base equal to the
height from which it had been released.
Newton's notable discovery was to show
that the two different kinds of motion can
be thought of as different aspects of the
same thing. He introduced the idea of
motion being affected by a force, then
transformed the idea in a quantitative
manner.
Newton claimed that things tend to keep
on doing what they are already doing.
The following are the examples of
Newton’s claim:
✓ You can impress your friends by
pulling a tablecloth from under some
glasswares. To be more successful,
you can use a smooth hemless cloth.
When you pull the cloth quickly in a
downward direction, the glassware

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Galileo suggested that natural horizontal Newton associated the concept of inertia
motion is the motion at a uniform speed to mass
in a straight-line, and this is just as
natural as at-rest state of motion
will not be disturbed; it will remain at
rest.
✓ Imagine you are standing still in a
stationary bus, then suddenly, the bus
moves forward. Your body has inertia,
and so a force is needed to change its
velocity. The bus floor accelerates
your feet, but your body falls
backward. As you hold on to the
handle, the force exerted by the bus
through the handle gives your body a
forward velocity. On the other hand,
when the bus suddenly stops, your
body will continue to be in motion and
so it moves forward until something
stops it.
✓ originally, he called mass as a
quantity of matter, but later redefined
it as a measure of inertia
✓ this means that a more massive
object has more inertia or has more
resistance to change in motion than a
less massive object

Galileo developed the concept of inertia
which is the tendency of an object to
maintain its initial state of motion, may it
be at rest or in motion
Newton’s first law of motion, which is also
known as the law of inertia, states that,
“a body at rest remains at rest, and a
body already in motion remains in motion
with a constant velocity (constant speed
and direction), in the absence of an
unbalanced applied force.

With these, it can be said that although Galileo did not fully explain motion, he
laid the foundation which eventually changed the view of the motion of objects.
Galileo’s revolutionary work profoundly influenced Sir Isaac Newton, the pioneer of the
laws of motion. Galileo knew that external forces affect motion --- this was expressed
in his definition of natural horizontal motion. What Galileo failed to mention, which was
explained by Newton was that, just as a force would cause acceleration in horizontal
motion, the natural acceleration actually observed in vertical motion is the effect of a
vertical force (the force of gravity) on the body, without which the natural vertical
motion would also be at a constant speed, just like natural horizontal motion. (Fowler,
1996).
Hence, the idea Newton was pointing out was that, the fundamental difference
between Galileo's natural steady speed horizontal motion and the natural accelerated
vertical motion is that vertically, there is always the gravitational force acting, and in
its absence --- for instance far into space --- the natural motion (that is, with no forces
acting) in any direction would be at a steady speed in a straight line.
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 The law of inertia presents a different way of viewing motion. From the classical
idea that continual forces were needed to maintain motion, we now know that objects
continue to move by themselves. To overcome the presence of friction, as well as to
set objects in motion initially, forces are needed. The object will move in a straight line
indefinitely if it is moving in a force-free environment.

III. Activity Proper

Exercise 1: What’s the Point? Using a Venn diagram, compare and contrast the
ideas of Newton and Galileo regarding motion. In particular, Newton’s First Law of
Motion and Galileo’s assertion that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion.

Galileo Newton

Guide Question
1) What is the major difference between Newton’s First Law of Motion and
Galileo’s assertion that force is not necessary to sustain horizontal motion?

IV. Reflection

Before you proceed to your next journey, you need to complete the following prompts:

Stop: I’m totally confused of

___________________________________________________________________

Proceed with Caution: I still need some clarification on

___________________________________________________________________

Go: I’m ready to move on because I have learned lots of things such as

___________________________________________________________________

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VI. References

Aether.lbl.gov. 2020. Physics 10 Lecture 4. [online] Available at:

<https://aether.lbl.gov/www/classes/p10/lecture-4.html> [Accessed 15
November 2020].
Bayo-ang, R. B. et al. (2017). Physical Science for Senior High School. Quezon
City. Educational Resources Corporation
Bord, D. J., and Ostdiek, V. J. (2012). The World of Physics. Manila: Vibal
Publishing House, Inc.
Cutnell, J. D. and Johnson, K. W. (2010). Introduction to Physics. Singapore: C &
E Publishing, Inc.
Galileo.phys.virginia.edu. 2020. Newton's Laws. [online] Available at:
<http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/109/lectures/newtongl.html>
[Accessed 15 November 2020].
Hewitt, P. G. (2005). Conceptual Physics. Singapore: Pearson, Education, Inc.
Padua, A. L., and Crisostomo, R. M. (2010). Practical and Explorational Physics.
Quezon City. Vibal Publishing House, Inc.
Silverio, A. A. (2007). Exploring Life Through Science: Physics. Quezon City:
Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
Tillery, B. W. (1999). Physical Science. Singapore: WCB McGraw Hill
Tonic.physics.sunysb.edu. 2020. [online] Available at:
<http://tonic.physics.sunysb.edu/~dteaney/F12_mystery/lectures/fowler.pdf
> [Accessed 15 November 2020].
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