GCSE Combined Science (AQA)

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Inertial Mass

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Forces Forces and motion

Inertial Mass

3:29 Newton's Three Laws
Spec 4.5.6.2.1 4.5.6.2.2
Previous Newton's Third Law Next Forces in Transport
  • Inertia is the tendency of an object to remain in a state of rest or uniform motion.
  • State of rest means an object that's not moving.
  • Uniform motion means an object isn't changing its velocity.
  • Inertia is derived from Latin for inactivity.
  • Example of inertial motion: a shuttle drifting in space with no forces acting on it, moving at a constant velocity.
  • Inertial mass measures how difficult it is to change an object's velocity.
  • Important to define both inertia and inertial mass for exams.
  • Example: two stationary balls (wood and metal) in space with no forces acting on them.
  • Applying the same force to both balls results in less change in velocity for the metal ball, indicating greater inertial mass.
  • Inertial mass can be described mathematically using Newton's second law.
  • Newton's second law: acceleration is proportional to the resultant force and inversely proportional to mass.
  • Resultant force equals mass times acceleration.
  • Inertial mass equals force divided by acceleration.
  • Metal ball has greater inertial mass, resulting in smaller acceleration by the same force.
  • Inertial mass is an application of mass, not a separate measurement.
  • Equation for inertial mass is similar to Newton's second law and is used for explanation rather than calculations.

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