Laws of Motion - Unit 03

Vocabulary flashcards defining core physics concepts from the Unit 03 lecture transcript, specifically covering inertia, Newton's second law, and impulsive force properties.

Inertia

The inability of objects to move on its own or change its state of motion; it represents resistance to change its state.

Inertia of Rest

The resistance of an object to change its state of rest, such as passengers experiencing a backward push during the sudden start of a bus.

Inertia of Motion

The resistance of an object to change its state of motion, such as passengers experiencing a forward push during a sudden brake in a bus.

Inertia of Direction

The inability of an object to change its direction of motion, such as a stone moving tangential to a circle or passengers turning right when a car moves left.

Newton's second law

States that the force acting on an object is equal to the rate of change of its momentum, expressed as $F = \frac{dp}{dt}$.

One Newton

The force which acts on $1\,\text{kg}$ of mass to give an acceleration of $1\,\text{ms}^{-2}$ in the direction of the force.

Impulsive force

A very large force that acts on an object for a very short duration; also referred to as impulse.

Impulse-momentum equation

Derived from Newton's second law, it shows that the change in momentum $\Delta P$ is equal to the force multiplied by the time interval: $F\Delta t = \Delta P$.