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The natural tendency of all bodies is to maintain its state of motion.

The first law of motion talks about the motion of a body for a particular situation. There is either "no force" or "zero net force" acting on the body. The first condition of "no force" is not common in our immediate surrounding. All bodies are acted by gravity i.e. force of attraction due to Earth. On the other hand, the second condition of "zero net force" is common in our immediate surrounding, where most bodies are stationary in Earth's reference as net force is zero.

First law of motion
Unless acted upon by a net external force, a body, at rest, will remain at rest and a body, in motion, will remain in motion.

The state of motion of a given body, including the state of rest, is completely defined by its velocity. Stationary state is just one important case of constant velocity or uniform motion. If the object is stationary in a frame of reference, then

v = 0

We can restate the first law of motion more concisely in velocity term as :

First law of motion
If net external force on a body is zero, then its velocity remains constant.

Mathematically equivalent statements of the first law of motion are :

1: If ∑ F = 0, then v = a constant.

2: If ∑ F = 0, then a = 0.

The substance of first law of motion is expressed in many ways. Here, we sum them all for ready reference (for the condition that the net force on a body is zero) :

  • The body may either be at rest or may move with constant velocity.
  • The body is not associated with any acceleration.
  • If the body is moving, then the body moves along a straight line with a constant speed without any change of direction.
  • If the body is moving, then the motion of the body is an uniform linear motion.
  • If a body is moving with uniform linear motion, then we can be sure that the net force on the body is zero.

First law of motion and our experience

Let us now examine the interpretation of the law in a bit more detail as the statement may not be completely in agreement of what we see around.

A body at rest remains at rest

The part of the statement, which says that the body remains in stationary state, is a comprehensible argument, supported by our daily life experience. We actually experience that a body requires some external force to be moved around form its stationary state. As a matter of fact, this experience instills the notion that the state of rest is the natural state of matter. We, however, know that notion of rest is actually an experience or a perspective in specific reference. A body at rest in Earth's reference is in motion for other heavenly bodies.

Rest does not mean absence of force. The body, in question, may actually experience a system of force whose net force is zero. Consider a book lying on the study table. The book experiences two forces (i) its weight acting downwards and (ii) normal reaction of the table acting upwards. The two forces are equal and opposite and hence their resultant is zero.

Books lying on a table

The book is acted upon by a pair of balanced forces.

Questions & Answers

Three charges q_{1}=+3\mu C, q_{2}=+6\mu C and q_{3}=+8\mu C are located at (2,0)m (0,0)m and (0,3) coordinates respectively. Find the magnitude and direction acted upon q_{2} by the two other charges.Draw the correct graphical illustration of the problem above showing the direction of all forces.
Kate Reply
To solve this problem, we need to first find the net force acting on charge q_{2}. The magnitude of the force exerted by q_{1} on q_{2} is given by F=\frac{kq_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}} where k is the Coulomb constant, q_{1} and q_{2} are the charges of the particles, and r is the distance between them.
Muhammed
What is the direction and net electric force on q_{1}= 5µC located at (0,4)r due to charges q_{2}=7mu located at (0,0)m and q_{3}=3\mu C located at (4,0)m?
Kate Reply
what is the change in momentum of a body?
Eunice Reply
what is a capacitor?
Raymond Reply
Capacitor is a separation of opposite charges using an insulator of very small dimension between them. Capacitor is used for allowing an AC (alternating current) to pass while a DC (direct current) is blocked.
Gautam
A motor travelling at 72km/m on sighting a stop sign applying the breaks such that under constant deaccelerate in the meters of 50 metres what is the magnitude of the accelerate
Maria Reply
please solve
Sharon
8m/s²
Aishat
What is Thermodynamics
Muordit
velocity can be 72 km/h in question. 72 km/h=20 m/s, v^2=2.a.x , 20^2=2.a.50, a=4 m/s^2.
Mehmet
A boat travels due east at a speed of 40meter per seconds across a river flowing due south at 30meter per seconds. what is the resultant speed of the boat
Saheed Reply
50 m/s due south east
Someone
which has a higher temperature, 1cup of boiling water or 1teapot of boiling water which can transfer more heat 1cup of boiling water or 1 teapot of boiling water explain your . answer
Ramon Reply
I believe temperature being an intensive property does not change for any amount of boiling water whereas heat being an extensive property changes with amount/size of the system.
Someone
Scratch that
Someone
temperature for any amount of water to boil at ntp is 100⁰C (it is a state function and and intensive property) and it depends both will give same amount of heat because the surface available for heat transfer is greater in case of the kettle as well as the heat stored in it but if you talk.....
Someone
about the amount of heat stored in the system then in that case since the mass of water in the kettle is greater so more energy is required to raise the temperature b/c more molecules of water are present in the kettle
Someone
definitely of physics
Haryormhidey Reply
how many start and codon
Esrael Reply
what is field
Felix Reply
physics, biology and chemistry this is my Field
ALIYU
field is a region of space under the influence of some physical properties
Collete
what is ogarnic chemistry
WISDOM Reply
determine the slope giving that 3y+ 2x-14=0
WISDOM
Another formula for Acceleration
Belty Reply
a=v/t. a=f/m a
IHUMA
innocent
Adah
pratica A on solution of hydro chloric acid,B is a solution containing 0.5000 mole ofsodium chlorid per dm³,put A in the burret and titrate 20.00 or 25.00cm³ portion of B using melting orange as the indicator. record the deside of your burret tabulate the burret reading and calculate the average volume of acid used?
Nassze Reply
how do lnternal energy measures
Esrael
Two bodies attract each other electrically. Do they both have to be charged? Answer the same question if the bodies repel one another.
JALLAH Reply
No. According to Isac Newtons law. this two bodies maybe you and the wall beside you. Attracting depends on the mass och each body and distance between them.
Dlovan
Are you really asking if two bodies have to be charged to be influenced by Coulombs Law?
Robert
like charges repel while unlike charges atttact
Raymond
What is specific heat capacity
Destiny Reply
Specific heat capacity is a measure of the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius (or Kelvin). It is measured in Joules per kilogram per degree Celsius (J/kg°C).
AI-Robot
specific heat capacity is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius or kelvin
ROKEEB
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Source:  OpenStax, Physics for k-12. OpenStax CNX. Sep 07, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10322/1.175
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