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written by Tom Henderson
This web page contains an in-depth tutorial on the topic of Newton's First Law (often referred to as the Law of Inertia), suitable for beginning students of physics.  It features multiple animations to accompany the text, plus self-guided question-and-answer sets.  Included is a discussion of the meaning of unbalanced force, the relationship between inertia and mass, everyday applications of the First Law, and a brief historical background.  

This item is part of The Physics Classroom, a web-based collection of tutorials for high school physics students.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Classical Mechanics
- Newton's First Law
- High School
- Middle School
- Instructional Material
= Problem/Problem Set
= Tutorial
- Audio/Visual
= Movie/Animation
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Learners
- Educators
- text/html
- image/gif
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Access Rights:
Free access
Restriction:
© 1996 Tom Henderson
Keywords:
acceleration, force, inertia, law of inertia, problem set, tutorial
Record Cloner:
Metadata instance created January 1, 2009 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:
January 11, 2012 by Tom Henderson
Last Update
when Cataloged:
December 12, 2008
Other Collections:

Physics is only physics when ....

Author: Abdullah Du'aleh
Posted: October 13, 2010 at 10:32AM
Source: The Physics Front collection

I personally don't have a particular idea for this website. But I have an idea about physics in my country and where else that is the same. We study/teach physics as stories(theories). There is no practical physics here. So what I come to believe is that physics is physics when it has its necessry resources.

» reply

The Physics Classroom Tutorial is great, but...

Author: Dean Golds.
Posted: February 2, 2009 at 9:52PM
Source: The Physics Front collection

...is there any vision for the future? Though the content is good and seems to be at just the right level for "regular" high school physics classes, it doesn't seem like this web site is moving foward. Answers to "Test Your Understanding" questions are shown in a new window when it seems that new web technologies would allow for a less awkward solution. Also, I emailed the site owner with typo fixes over 2 months ago and....nothing...typos are still there.

What's the master plan, stan? -DRG

» reply

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ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
T. Henderson, (1996), WWW Document, (https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm).
AJP/PRST-PER
T. Henderson, The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion (1996), <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm>.
APA Format
Henderson, T. (2008, December 12). The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm
Chicago Format
Henderson, Tom. The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion. December 12, 2008. https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm (accessed 19 March 2024).
MLA Format
Henderson, Tom. The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion. 1996. 12 Dec. 2008. 19 Mar. 2024 <https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Author = "Tom Henderson", Title = {The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion}, Volume = {2024}, Number = {19 March 2024}, Month = {December 12, 2008}, Year = {1996} }
Refer Export Format

%A Tom Henderson %T The Physics Classroom:  Newton's First Law of Motion %D December 12, 2008 %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %A Henderson, Tom %D December 12, 2008 %T The Physics Classroom:  Newton's First Law of Motion %V 2024 %N 19 March 2024 %8 December 12, 2008 %9 text/html %U https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.cfm


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The Physics Classroom: Newton's First Law of Motion:

Has Student Extra

It's not Halo Wars for X-Box; but you can still have fun with these online, interactive inertia games.

relation by Tom Henderson
Has Teaching Guide

This Newton's First Law lesson from The Physics Classroom Tutorial provides the background needed to be successful at these Inertia Games.

relation by Tom Henderson
Has Student Extra Skateboard Science

Learn about the physics of skateboarding from the Exploratorium Museum website.

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Has Student Extra Flickr Physics

Visit The Physics Classroom's Flickr Galleries and take a visual overview of Newton's laws of motion.

relation by Tom Henderson
Has Teaching Guide PBS Teachers

View a lesson plan from PBS Teachers on the topic of Newton's Laws.

relation by Tom Henderson

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