Mass and Inertia

Mass

Mass is the amount of matter.

Unit: kilogram (kg)

Type of quantity: Scalar quantity

Inertia

Inertia is the property of a body that tends to maintain its state of motion.

Newton's First Law

In the absence of external forces, an object at rest remains at rest and an object in motion continues in motion with a constant velocity (that is, with a constant speed in a straight line).

Jerking a Card

When the cardboard is jerked quickly, the coin will fall into the glass.

Explanation:

• The inertia of the coin resists the change of its initial state, which is stationary.
• As a result, the coin does not move with the cardboard and falls into the glass because of gravity.

Pulling a Book

When the book is pulled out, the books on top will fall downwards.

Explanation:

Inertia tries to oppose the change to the stationary situation, that is, when the book is pulled out, the books on top do not follow suit.

Pulling a Thread

Pull slowly - Thread A will snap.
Explanation:
Tension of thread A is higher than string B.
Tension at A = Weight of the load + Pulling Force

Yank quickly - Thread B will snap.
Explanation:
The inertia of the load prevents the force from being transmitted to thread A, hence causing thread B to snap.

Larger Mass - Greater Inertia

Bucket filled with sand is more difficult to be moved. It's also more difficult to be stopped from swinging.

Explanation:

Object with more mass offers a greater resistance to change from its state of motion.
Object with larger mass has larger inertia to resist the attempt to change the state of motion.

Empty cart is easier to be moved

An empty cart is easier to be moved compare with a cart full with load. This is because a cart with larger mass has larger inertia to resist the attempt to change the state of motion.