Practice Newton's First Law in Physics

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Quick Recap

An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion at constant velocity, unless acted on by a net force.

Things keep doing what they're doing unless something pushes or pulls them.

Example 1

easy
A book rests on a table. The weight of the book is 15 \text{ N} downward. What is the normal force exerted by the table, and what is the net force on the book?

Example 2

medium
A hockey puck slides across a frictionless ice surface at 5 \text{ m/s}. What is the puck's velocity after 10 \text{ seconds}?

Example 3

easy
A car travels at a constant velocity of 20 \text{ m/s} on a straight road. What is the net force acting on the car?

Example 4

medium
A bus travels at 12 \text{ m/s} and brakes suddenly. A backpack on the floor slides forward. According to Newton's first law, what was the backpack's velocity immediately before friction acted on it?
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