What does Newton's First Law mean?

Newton's First Law states that an object will continue moving at the same velocity in the same direction unless a resultant force acts upon it. This applies to stationary objects too - if an object is still and no resultant force is exerted on it, it will remain still. A resultant force is the force left over when all the forces and their directions are taken into account, e.g. on a ball moving through air, there is a drag force and gravitational force acting on it - the ball continues to move down because the gravitational force is greater than the drag force. This tendency of objects to stay in their steady state is called inertia.

AH
Answered by Annie H. Physics tutor

2173 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Name two properties that both microwave and infrared has.


why does applying the brakes of a car cause the temperature of the breaks to increase?


A boy kicks a ball and it is accelerated uniformly from rest so that after 10 seconds it has achieved a speed of 15m/s. Find the ball's acceleration.


Why are transformers used in the National Grid?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences