Mechanics - Newton's First Law of Motion

Newton's first law of motion states that a body in rest or motion would tend to remain in the same until an external force is applied against it.

The following is a couple of examples in relation to Newton's first law of motion:

  • When you try stepping down from a moving bus, you tend to fall down unless you run as you step down. The reason is as you step down, your body which was in motion tend to remain in the same state while your feet stop. Thus, the upper part of body pushes forward resulting in you falling down. On the other hand, if you went on to run as you stepped down, you would have maintained the first law of motion and not fell down.

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