Newton's Laws Name:

Inertia and Mass

Read from Lesson 1 of the Newton's Laws chapter at The Physics Classroom:

1. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. It is the "stubborn act of
the will" to keep on doing whatever the object is doing.

2. The amount of inertia possessed by an object is dependent solely upon its mass.

3. Two bricks are resting on edge of the lab table. Shirley Sheshort stands on her toes and spots the
two bricks. She acquires an intense desire to know which of the two bricks are most massive. Since
Shirley is vertically challenged, she is unable to reach high enough and lift the bricks; she can
however reach high enough to give the bricks a push. Discuss how the process of pushing the bricks
will allow Shirley to determine which of the two bricks is most massive. What differences will
Shirley observe and how can this observation lead to the necessary conclusion?

By pushing the bricks, Shirley can feel the inertia - the tendency of each brick to resist a change in its
state of being at rest. Bricks of different mass will offer different degrees of resistance to the force
that attempts to disrupt its state of rest. The brick with the greatest mass will offer more resistance.
Shirley will be able to feel this resistance.

4. Would Shirley Sheshort be able to conduct this same study if she was on a spaceship in a location in
space far from the influence of significant gravitational forces? Yes! Explain your answer.

Objects on the spaceship would still have mass and be able to exhibit the same degree of inertia as
they exhibit on Earth. While their weight (a gravity thing) will be significantly diminished, their
mass and tendency to resist a disruption from their state of motion will be just the same as on Earth.

5. If a moose were chasing you through the woods, its enormous mass would be very threatening. But
if you zigzagged, then its great mass would be to your advantage. Explain why.

A large-massed object (e.g., a moose) has considerable difficulty changing its state of motion. This is
inertia. A change in direction is a change in the state of motion. By zigzagging, you can take
advantage of the large inertia of the moose. You will make the turn but the moose will have a
tendency to go straight. Now that's physics for better living!

6. Inertia can best be described as D.

a. the force that keeps moving objects moving and stationary objects at rest.
b. the willingness of an object to eventually lose its motion
c. the force that causes all objects to stop
d. the tendency of any object to resist change and keep doing whatever it's doing

7. Mass and velocity values for a variety of objects are listed below. Rank the objects from smallest to
greatest inertia. C < D < A < B

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Newton's Laws

Objects with the least mass have the least amount of inertia; objects with the most mass have the
greatest amount of inertia. The velocity or speed of the object has nothing to do with inertia.
Recognizing Forces

Read from Lesson 2 of the Newton's Laws chapter at The Physics Classroom:

There are several situations described below. For each situation, fill in the list provided by indicating
which forces are present and stating which features of the situation you used to determine the presence
or absence of the force. To facilitate this exercise, utilize the Net Force Help Sheet. Upon completion of
this assignment, check your answers using the available Web page.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/morehelp/recforce/recforce.cfm

Description of Situation Force Present (P)

or Absent (A)? Explanation

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

A taut rope is attached to the object; this is

Tension P
the cause of the tension force.

1. A block hangs at rest Normal: A The block is not being directly supported
from the ceiling by a on any of its sides by a stable surface.
piece of rope. Consider
Friction A The object is not moving across a surface
the forces acting on the
so it does not experience friction.
block.
Air Res.: A If an object is not moving (relative to the
surrounding air), then there is no Fair.

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Newton's Laws Name:

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: P A stretched spring is attached to the block;

this is the cause of the spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.
2. A block hangs from the
Normal: A The block is not being directly supported
ceiling by a spring.
on any of its sides by a stable surface.
Consider the forces
acting on the block when Friction A The object is not moving across a surface
it is at rest (at its so it does not experience friction.
equilibrium position).
Air Res.: A If an object is not moving (relative to the
surrounding air), then there is no Fair.

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Newton's Laws

Description of Situation Force Present (P)

or Absent (A)? Explanation

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the ball in

the air; thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.

3. A ball is shot into the air Normal: A The ball is not being supported on any of
with a spring-loaded its sides by a stable surface.
cannon. Consider the
forces acting on the ball Friction A The object is not moving across a surface
while it is in the air. so it does not experience surface friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair; it is often a small force.

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.
4. A skydiver (who hasn't
opened his parachute Normal: A The skydiver is not being supported on
yet) falls at terminal any of its sides by a stable surface.
velocity. Consider the
forces acting on the Friction A The object is not moving across a surface
skydiver. so it does not experience surface friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair.

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Newton's Laws Name:

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.

5. A block rests on top of a

Normal: P The block is being directly supported by a
table. Consider only the stable surface (the table).
forces acting upon the
block. Friction A The object is not moving or trying to
moveacross a surface so there is no Ffrict.

Air Res.: A If an object is not moving (relative to the

surrounding air), then there is no Fair.

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Newton's Laws

Description of Situation Force Present (P)

or Absent (A)? Explanation

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.
6. A block is being pushed
across the top of a table. Normal: P Even when moving, the block is still being
Consider only the forces directly supported by a stable surface.
acting upon the block.
Friction P The object is moving across a surface and
thus experiencing friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair; it is often a small force.

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

connected to the object and pulled tight.

7. A block slides across the Normal: P Even when moving, the block is still being
top of a table. Consider directly supported by a stable surface.
only the forces acting
upon the block. Friction P The object is moving across a surface and
thus experiencing friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair; it is often a small force.

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Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.
8. The driver of a car has
her foot on the gas pedal. Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)
The wheels are turning as connected to the object and pulled tight.
the car accelerates down
Normal: P Even when moving, the car is still being
the road. Consider only
directly supported by the road surface.
the forces acting upon
the car. Friction P As the wheels turn, they grip the road due
to friction, resulting in a forward force.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair.

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Newton's Laws

Description of Situation Force Present (P)

or Absent (A)? Explanation

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)

9. A person is sitting on a connected to the object and pulled tight.
sled and gliding across
loosely packed snow Normal: P The person is still being directly supported
along a horizontal by the sled surface.
surface. Consider only
the forces acting on the Friction P The sled is slows down due to friction. The
person. person would slide forward across the seat
if he did not experience friction as well..
Air Res.: P
If an object is moving (through air), then
there is an Fair; it is often a small force.

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.
10. The wheels of a car are
locked as it skids to a Tension A There are no strings (or ropes or ...)
stop while moving across connected to the object and pulled tight.
a level highway.
Even when moving, the car is still being
Consider only the forces Normal: P
directly supported by the road surface.
acting on the car.
Friction P The wheels are skidding across the road
and thus experiencing friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair.

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Newton's Laws Name:

Gravity P The force of gravity acts upon all objects;

the Earth and the object attract.

Spring: A There are no springs touching the object;

thus, there is no spring force.

A taut rope is attached to the bucket; this is

Tension P
the cause of the tension force.
11. A bucket of water,
attached by a rope, is The object is not being supported on any
Normal: A
being pulled out of a of its sides by a stable surface.
well. Consider only the
forces acting on the Friction A The object is not moving across a surface
bucket. so it does not experience surface friction.

Air Res.: P If an object is moving (through air), then

there is an Fair; it is often a small force.

Free-Body Diagrams
Read from Lesson 2 of the Newton's Laws chapter at The Physics Classroom:

Construct free-body diagrams for the following physical situations. Label all forces (e.g, F grav, Fnorm,
Fapp, Ffrict, Fair, Ftens, etc. ).

a. A physics book rests b. A skydiver is falling c. A large crate is being

upon a level table. and has reached a pushed leftward at a
constant velocity.
Fnorm Fair
Fnorm
Ffrict Fapp
Fgrav Fgrav
Fgrav
terminal velocity.

d. A sledder has reached e. A ball is moving f. An air track glider moves

the bottom of a hill and is upwards towards its rightward at constant
coasting rightward while peak. Ignore air speed.
slowing down. resistance.
Fair
Fnorm
Fgrav
Fgrav
Fgrav
NOTE: An upward force is not Technically, the up force is
"Coasting" indicates constant v. required. air resistance and not Fnorm.

Ftens
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Fgrav
Fgrav
Newton's Laws

g. The brakes are applied to h. A spider is slowly i. A projectile is moving

a rightward moving car descending a thin silk upwards and rightwards
and it skids to a stop. thread at constant speed. towards the peak of its
trajectory.
Fnorm (For projectiles, there is no Fair.)
Ffrict

Fgrav

Mass and Weight

Read from Lesson 2 of the Newton's Laws chapter at The Physics Classroom:

1. The standard metric unit for mass is kilogram and the standard metric unit for weight is Newton.

2. An object's mass refers to the amount of stuff present in the object and an object's weight refers to
the force of gravitational attraction to Earth. Fill in each blank.
a. the amount of space it takes up b. the force of gravitational attraction to Earth
c. how dense an object is d. the amount of stuff present in the object

3. Complete the following table showing the relationship between mass and weight.

Object Mass Approx. Weight

Melon 1 kg 9.8 N

Apple 0.10 kg ~1.0 N

Pat Eatladee 25 kg 245 N

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Newton's Laws Name:

4. Different masses are hung on a spring scale calibrated in Newtons.

The force exerted by gravity on 1 kg = ~10 N.

The force exerted by gravity on 5 kg = ~50 N. (more precisely, 49 N)

The force exerted by gravity on 70 kg = ~700 N. (more precisely, 686 N)

5. The value of g in the British system is 32 ft/sec2. The unit of force is

pounds. The unit of mass is the slug. Use your weight in pounds to
calculate your mass in units of slugs. PSYW

Answers will vary. The calculation for a 160-pound person is:

Mass = Weight/g = (160 lbs)/(32 ft/s2) = 5.0 slug

6. You might be wondering about your metric weight. Using conversion factors, convert your weight
in pounds to units of N. (Use 1 N = 0.22 pounds) PSYW

Answers will vary. The calculation for a 160-pound person is:

160 lb • (1.0 N/0.22 lb) = 730 N (727.27 … N)

7. What is the mass and weight of a 10-kg object on earth?

Mass = 10 kg Weight = 98 N (mass multiplied by 9.8)

What is the mass and weight of a 10-kg object on the moon where the force of gravity is 1/6-th that of
the Earth's?
Mass = 10 kg Weight = 16 N (one-sixth of 98 N)

8. Conclusion: The mass of an object is independent of the object's location in space.

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