Inertia

However, an object in motion will stay in motion – that is the law. Newton’s First Law, to be exact. Sixth grade is continuing to learn about physics and the concept of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of an object to stay in motion, or, if it was at rest, to stay at rest. Scientists of Sir Isaac Newton’s time were incorrect in their assumptions about motion. They thought it required constant force to keep something moving. It’s really that other variables come into play: gravity, friction, an object in the way, and so forth. An object’s direction or speed will only change if something acts upon it; that’s Newton’s Second Law. Interestingly, Newton may not have made his many discoveries about math and motion if he had not been escaping the break-out of a plague at his university. And what if that killer apple had never fallen on his head? That’s what got the ball rolling… so to speak.

Miss Kleinschuster

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Topics: 6Sixth Grade
Date: Thursday, June 24th, 2010 11:41 am