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Consider the situations below. Which of these is the BEST example of Newton's 1st Law (inertia)? (1 point)

Responses

You go down a steep hill in a sled and it feels like your stomach is going up into your throat.
You go down a steep hill in a sled and it feels like your stomach is going up into your throat.

A tennis player throws the tennis ball into the air for a serve and the ball falls to the ground.
A tennis player throws the tennis ball into the air for a serve and the ball falls to the ground.

A bird takes flight from the ground.
A bird takes flight from the ground.

Tom uses a cane to walk across the road.

1 answer

The BEST example of Newton's 1st Law (inertia) is:

A tennis player throws the tennis ball into the air for a serve and the ball falls to the ground.

This situation illustrates inertia as the ball continues to move upwards due to the initial force applied by the player, but once that force is no longer acting on it (after it is thrown), gravity pulls it back down, showing its tendency to resist changes in its state of motion. The other examples do not directly illustrate the principle of inertia as clearly.