Newton's First Law of Motion is also known by which alternative name?

Newton's First Law of Motion is also known by which alternative name?

• A. The Law of Acceleration
• B. Newton's Second Law of Motion
• C. Newton's Third Law of Motion
• D. The Law of Inertia

Answer: (D)

Inertia is the tendency of matter to resist changes in its motion. Newton's First Law says that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion continues moving with the same speed and direction unless a net external force acts on it. The alternative name for this law is The Law of Inertia, which directly captures that resisting behavior of matter. This contrasts with the idea that motion changes automatically with any force (which is what the Second Law explains through F = ma) and with Newton's Third Law, which talks about action-reaction pairs. Everyday examples—like a passenger laring forward when a car stops or a puck coasting on a frictionless surface until a force slows it—illustrate how inertia governs motion when no net external force is present or when a new force acts.

Inertia is the tendency of matter to resist changes in its motion. Newton's First Law says that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion continues moving with the same speed and direction unless a net external force acts on it. The alternative name for this law is The Law of Inertia, which directly captures that resisting behavior of matter. This contrasts with the idea that motion changes automatically with any force (which is what the Second Law explains through F = ma) and with Newton's Third Law, which talks about action-reaction pairs. Everyday examples—like a passenger laring forward when a car stops or a puck coasting on a frictionless surface until a force slows it—illustrate how inertia governs motion when no net external force is present or when a new force acts.