What is Newton’s first law?

Newton’s first law says that things keep doing what they’re already doing, unless something makes them change.

Imagine you're on a swing. You go back and forth, right? If no one pushes you or pulls the swing chain, you just keep swinging the same way. That’s inertia at work, it's like your body saying, “I don’t want to stop!”

Think of playing with a toy car on the floor. When you push it, it zooms forward. But if you stop pushing, it keeps going, for a little while, until it slows down and stops. That’s because the car wants to keep moving, just like you on the swing.

Now imagine you’re riding in a car that suddenly stops. You lurch forward, your body still wants to keep moving even though the car has stopped. That's inertia again!

But if something does make things change, like a push or a stop, then they’ll start doing something new. It’s like when you’re on a swing and someone gives it a big push, suddenly, you're going faster! Newton’s first law says that things keep doing what they’re already doing, unless something makes them change.

Imagine you're on a swing. You go back and forth, right? If no one pushes you or pulls the swing chain, you just keep swinging the same way. That’s inertia at work, it's like your body saying, “I don’t want to stop!”

Think of playing with a toy car on the floor. When you push it, it zooms forward. But if you stop pushing, it keeps going, for a little while, until it slows down and stops. That’s because the car wants to keep moving, just like you on the swing.

Now imagine you’re riding in a car that suddenly stops. You lurch forward, your body still wants to keep moving even though the car has stopped. That's inertia again!

But if something does make things change, like a push or a stop, then they’ll start doing something new. It’s like when you’re on a swing and someone gives it a big push, suddenly, you're going faster!