Inertia Physics Example 1

Follow the full solution, then compare it with the other examples linked below.

Example 1

easy
A 2 kg2 \text{ kg} book and a 10 kg10 \text{ kg} box are both at rest on a frictionless table. The same force of 5 N5 \text{ N} is applied to each. Which object is harder to accelerate, and what is each object's acceleration?

Solution

  1. 1
    Inertia is the resistance of an object to changes in its motion, and it is directly related to mass. The 10 kg10 \text{ kg} box has more inertia.
  2. 2
    Acceleration of the book: abook=Fm=52=2.5 m/s2a_{\text{book}} = \frac{F}{m} = \frac{5}{2} = 2.5 \text{ m/s}^2
  3. 3
    Acceleration of the box: abox=Fm=510=0.5 m/s2a_{\text{box}} = \frac{F}{m} = \frac{5}{10} = 0.5 \text{ m/s}^2

Answer

abook=2.5 m/s2,abox=0.5 m/s2a_{\text{book}} = 2.5 \text{ m/s}^2, \quad a_{\text{box}} = 0.5 \text{ m/s}^2
Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. More massive objects have greater inertia and require more force to achieve the same acceleration.

About Inertia

The intrinsic tendency of an object to resist any change in its state of motion, whether at rest or moving.

Learn more about Inertia →

More Inertia Examples

Example 2 medium

A passenger in a car is not wearing a seatbelt. The car, traveling at [formula], suddenly stops in [

Example 3 medium

A hockey puck ([formula]) slides on frictionless ice at [formula]. A bowling ball ([formula]) rolls

Example 4 hard

An empty shopping cart ([formula]) and a full one ([formula]) are both pushed from rest with [formul

← All Inertia Examples Inertia Concept