Section 5.1 Newton's First Law of Motion

Section 5.
Newton’s first law

of motion
• Galileo’s experiments
• Inertia
• Newton’s first law of motion
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5.1 Newton’s first law of motion (SB p. 57)
Galileo’s experiments
pushing, pulling, lifting things need

move, stop and
force change direction
of objects
Go to
Quiz
Galileo’s experiments
Ancient philosopher – Aristotle:
“Force must be applied to make a body move.”
Is it correct?
Galileo Galilei
“pin-and-pendulum” experiment

“Pin-and-pendulum” experiment
Start Always reach the

End
same height as A

If a pin is fixed below the clamp,
The bob also reaches

the same height as the
starting point.

When air resistance & friction are negligible

→ bob swings between two points of
maximum height

Galileo’s thought experiment
A ball bearing is
released on a curved
rail with different
A curvatures


If there is no friction, the ball bearing must reach
the same height as the starting point.
How about if ……


right end laid flat & infinitely long
move at a uniform velocity forever

tends to climb to
its original height
A body can move without applying

a force on it
Inertia
Inertia of a body
— tendency for it to remain at rest /
move at a uniform velocity
— resists changes in its state of motion
Go to
Activity 1

Inertia and mass
We use heavy bowling … why? Go to
Thinking 1 Discussion 1
Inertia and mass
↑ mass → ↑ inertia
Heavy ball wooden bottles

(smaller mass)
greater tendency to smaller tendency to

maintain its state of remain at rest- the
motion bottle fall down
Mass is a measure of the quantity of

matter inside a body

Inertia and mass
Ping-pong
v
ball Easier to stop
basket ball
v
Harder to stop

Newton’s first law of motion
Sir Isaac Newton modified

Galileo’s idea of inertia:
Newton’s first law of motion:

relation between force and
motion

Newton’s first law of motion —

a body will remain in its state of motion if
no net force acting on it
uniform velocity at rest

motion
or
No net force
no net force
When a car brakes suddenly,

occupant is thrown
forwards
tendency to keep on
moving by Newton’s
first law of motion

When a car starts to move,

the head of occupant
tends to at rest (thrown
backwards)
tends to at rest by
Newton’s first law of
motion
cause neck injuries
Thinking 2
Seat belt and head rest
Safety measures in vehicles
Head rests
Seat belt

Without seat belt With seat belt
The seat belts exert pulling force on the occupants

Head rests
Cushioning forces exerted on both

the head and body to protect the
neck of driver
To section 5.2

Quiz
1. When the bus accelerates forwards form

the rest, the passengers on the bus lean
backwards slightly. Why?
Ans
B. The passengers lean backwards wer
due to their own inertia.
Quiz (Cont)
2. Thy tyres of vehicles have tread patterns

Ans
C. to increase friction with the road. wer

Quiz (Cont)
3. If the ball hit by the bus moves at a

uniform speed on a road, Ans
wer
C. there is no net force acting on the
ball. Return to
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Text 24
Activity 1
Tricks with inertia
Let’s start:
(A) Coin on a cardboard
1. Place a cardboard
with a coin on it on
your index finger
(Fig. (a)). Fig. (a)
2. Flick the cardboard with the other hand.

What happens to the coin? Ans
wer
The coin remains at rest on the finger.
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
(B) Stack of coins
1. Stack coins in one
column on a table
(Fig. (b)) .
Fig. (b)
2. Strike the lowest coin with a steel ruler.

What happens to the other coins?
The rest of the stack of coins do not Ans
collapse. They stay vertically. wer
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
(C)Toilet paper
1. Place a roll of toilet
paper on a rod
(Fig. (c)).
2. Pull the toilet paper
Fig. (c)
quickly by applying a Ans
jerk. What happens? wer
The piece of toilet paper is torn off and

the roll remains stationary.
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
Fig. (c)
3. Pull the toilet paper slowly this time.

What happens? Ans
wer
The roll of toilet paper rotates
continuously.
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
(D) Ball bearing on a running
trolley
1. Stick a small lump of
plasticine onto a trolley
(Fig. (d)). Fig. (d)
2. Make a cup-shaped
hollow in the plasticine to
hold a ball bearing on it
loosely.
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
3. Set an obstacle on an
inclined plane.
4. Push the trolley down the
inclined plane to hit the
obstacle. What happens Fig. (d)
to the steel ball when the
Ans
trolley hits the obstacle?
wer
The steel ball keeps on moving and flies
off when the trolley stops
Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
Explain briefly the

motions in the
tricks (A), (B), (C) Fig. (a) Fig. (b)
and (D).
Ans
wer
Fig. (c) Fig. (d)

Activity 1 (Cont)
Tricks with inertia
Tricks (A), (B), (C)
demonstrate the
tendency of a body
to remain at rest.
Trick (D) Fig. (a) Fig. (b)
demonstrates the
tendency of a body
to maintain its state
of motion.
Return to Fig. (c) Fig. (d)
Text
Discussion 1:
It is more difficult to push a heavy bag than a

light bag form rest. Explain briefly. Ans
wer
Hard to push Easy to push

Discussion 1 (Cont):
As the heavy bag has a greater mass, it has a

greater tendency to remain at rest. Therefore it is
more difficult to move.
Return to
Hard to push Easy to push
Text
34
Thinking 1:
Hold a bottle of ketchup. Open the cap and

turn it upside down. The ketchup does not
flow out immediately. But if the bottle is
thrust downwards at a high speed and then
suddenly stopped, the ketchup is dislodged.
Explain briefly. Ans
When the bottle is thrust downwards, both the bottle and
werthe
ketchup are moving downwards. When the bottle is stopped
suddenly, the ketchup inside tends to continue its motion, so
it flows out from the open end. Return to

Text
35
Thinking 2:
A car braked suddenly near a cliff as shown.

Explain the motion of the driver. Ans
wer
Return to
Text
Due to inertia, the driver and the hat are thrown

forwards. They have the tendency to remain in
motion.

Section 5.1 Newton's First Law of Motion

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Section 5.

Newton’s first law

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 1

pushing, pulling, lifting things need

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 3

Start Always reach the

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 4

If a pin is fixed below the clamp,

The bob also reaches

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 5

When air resistance & friction are negligible

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 6

Galileo’s thought experiment

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 7

Galileo’s thought experiment

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 8

Galileo’s thought experiment

move at a uniform velocity forever

A body can move without applying

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 10

Inertia and mass

We use heavy bowling … why? Go to

Inertia and mass

Heavy ball wooden bottles

greater tendency to smaller tendency to

Mass is a measure of the quantity of

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 12

Inertia and mass

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 13

Newton’s first law of motion

Sir Isaac Newton modified

Newton’s first law of motion:

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 14

Newton’s first law of motion

Newton’s first law of motion —

uniform velocity at rest

Newton’s first law of motion

When a car brakes suddenly,

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 16

Newton’s first law of motion

When a car starts to move,

Seat belt and head rest

Safety measures in vehicles

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 18

Seat belt and head rest

Without seat belt With seat belt

The seat belts exert pulling force on the occupants

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 19

Seat belt and head rest

Cushioning forces exerted on both

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 21

1. When the bus accelerates forwards form

2. Thy tyres of vehicles have tread patterns

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 23

3. If the ball hit by the bus moves at a

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd.

2. Flick the cardboard with the other hand.

2. Strike the lowest coin with a steel ruler.

The piece of toilet paper is torn off and

3. Pull the toilet paper slowly this time.

Explain briefly the

Fig. (c) Fig. (d)