(STF) Newton's First Law Lesson

Newton's First Law 

When we play with toys we are employing forces to make them operate. From a toy car that a child pushes along the floor to a toy rocket that blasts off into the sky, forces are at work giving toys energy to perform their actions. A force is simply a push or pull on an object as it interacts with its environment. Forces can be great or small, but they are always at work when an object is in motion. Almost all toys require some sort of force to become active and provide us entertainment. In this lesson, we will look at how forces interact with toys to give them the movements that entertain us for hours.

Newton's First Law of Motion

Any time a force is applied to an object, movement is created if the force is strong enough to overcome the other forces that hold it in place. An object at rest tends to stay at rest due to inertia, the natural tendency for an object to remain in its current position. Inertia also applies to moving objects in that an object that is in motion tends to stay in motion. This is the fundamental basis of Newton's First Law of Motion.

It states that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion continues in motion with a constant velocity, unless an object experiences a net external force. This law applies to all objects and the toys that we play with are no exception. If you want to send a toy in motion, a certain amount of force has to be applied to get it moving, and then more force has to be applied to accelerate the object. Think about moving a heavy object.  It takes a lot of force to start it moving, but after motion begins the object is much easier to move.

There are several toys that take advantage of this Law in order to operate. A slinky falling down the stairs is one example. In order to get the slinky moving a person has to overcome inertia by adding a force to the top of the slinky. Once a slinky is set in motion it continues to move until it encounters the floor. The floor applies a force in the opposite direction which causes the slinky to come to a rest.

There are other toys that demonstrate Newton's first law as well. Think of a toy car, plane or boat. If you push one of these toys it will move in the opposite direction. Theoretically they would move forever at the same velocity, but on Earth we have other forces that act upon it. As the toy moves, it encounters friction which exerts a force in the opposite direction of the movement. This force causes the toy to slow down, and eventually stop. If we were in outer space where there is no atmosphere, an object would continue to move forever, or until it encountered another object in the solar system. As you can see, Newton's first law describes the natural tendency for objects to remain in their current state of motion. Whether an object is moving at a constant velocity or sitting at rest, that object wants to remain in that state.

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