Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. This means that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving at a constant velocity in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.
To explain this concept, let's consider two scenarios:
1. Object at rest: If a book is placed on a table and no external force is applied to it, the book will stay at rest due to its inertia. It will not move unless a force, like pushing it with your hand, is exerted on it to overcome its inertia and set it in motion.
2. Object in motion: If a ball is rolling on a flat surface and no force is acting on it, the ball will keep moving in a straight line at a constant speed due to its inertia. If you want to stop the ball, you need to apply a force in the opposite direction to overcome its inertia and bring it to a stop.
Inertia is a fundamental concept in physics described by Newton's First Law of Motion, which states that an object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force.
