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Learning Objectives :

A student is able to : 1. Explain what inertia is 2. Gives examples situations involving inertia 3. Relate mass to inertia

1, Observe the following situation.

Situation 1: The bus moves suddenly from rest. Question : What happened to the passengers as the bus suddenly moves from rest and why?

Answer: Passengers in a bus will fall backwards when a stationary bus starts to move with forward acceleration Because: When the bus moves suddenly from rest, our feet are carried __forward______ but our body tends to keep us at _rest______. This causes our body to fall backward

Situation 2: The bus is stop suddenly. Question : What happened to the passengers as the bus suddenly stop and why?

Answer: Passengers in a moving bus fall forward when the bus comes to stop suddenly. Because: The passengers were in a state of moving when the bus was moving. When the bus stops suddenly, our feet are brought to stop but our body tends to continue its moving motion. This causes our body to fall forward.

3.Definition of inertia. Inertia is a property of a body that resists a change in the state of rest or motion of the body.

4.Examples of the situation involving Inertia


a. Chili sauce in the bottle can be easily poured out if the bottle is moved down fast with a sudden stop. Explanation. The sauce in the bottles moves with the bottle during the downward movement. When the bottle is stopped, the inertia of the sauce causes it to continue in its downward movement and thus the sauce is forced out of the bottle.

b.The drop of water on a wet umbrella will fall when the boy rotates the umbrella. Explanation This is because the drop of water on the surface of the umbrella move simultaneously as the umbrella is rotated. When the umbrella stops rotating, the inertia of the drop of water will continue to maintain its motion.

c.The head of hammer is secured tightly to its handle by knocking one end of the handle, held vertically, on a hard surface. Explanation: This causes the hammer head to continue on its motion when the handle has been stopped, so that the top end of the handle is slotted deeper into the hammer head.

4.Relate mass to inertia Observe these picture and state which of the following have the largest inertia.

Activity 1:

1. One bucket is filled with sand while the other bucket is empty. 2. Then, both buckets are pushed. 3. It is found that the empty bucket is [easier / harder] to push compared to the bucket with sand. 4. When both buckets are oscillating , the bucket filled with sand is more [easier /harder] to be stopped 5. This shows that the heavier bucket offers a [greater /lesser] resistance to change from its state of rest or from its state of motion. 6. An object with a larger mass has a [larger /smaller] inertia.

When mass increases inertia [increases /decreases]

Exercises. 1. State the definition of inertia.

2.

A child and an adult each sits on similar swings as shown in Diagram above a) If they are given a push, which one of them is more difficult i) to be moved? ii) to stop? iii) Give reason to your answers in (a)(i) and (ii) b) The property in which a body resists change from its state of rest or motion is known as inertia. Based on your answer in (a) state the relationship between the inertia and mass.

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