Examples of Inertia

Last updated on February 8th, 2024 at 10:28 am

In this post, we will list a set of examples of Inertia (in fact, for all 3 types of inertia) for class 9 students.

Examples of Inertia

• An athlete runs some distance before jumping. Because this will help him jump longer and higher. (Inertia of motion)
• When you make a sharp turn while driving a car, you tend to lean sideways, (Inertia of direction).
• When you vigorously shake the branches of a tree, some of the leaves and fruits are detached and they fall down, (Inertia of rest).

More Examples of Inertia with an explanation

When a hanging carpet is beaten with a stick, dust particles start coming out of it. This is because the force of the stick makes the carpet move to and fro slightly but the dust particles tend to remain at rest (or stationary) due to their inertia and hence separate from the carpet. (Inertia of rest)

When a tree (having a flexible stem) is shaken vigorously, its fruits and leaves fall down. This is due to the fact that when the tree is shaken, it moves to and fro slightly but its fruits and leaves tend to remain at rest (or stationary) due to their inertia and hence detach from the tree and fall down. (Inertia of rest)

We have seen that when a car or bus starts suddenly, the passengers fall backward. This is due to the fact that because of their inertia, the passengers tend to remain in their state of rest (or stationary state) even when the car or bus has started moving. (Inertia of rest)

When a running car or bus stops suddenly, the passengers are jerked forward because due to inertia the passengers tend to remain in their state of motion (which they possessed in a moving car or bus) even though the car or bus has come to rest. (Inertia of motion)

When a car or bus turns a corner sharply, we tend to fall sideways because of our inertia or tendency to continue moving in a straight line. (Inertia of direction)

It is dangerous to jump out of a moving bus because the jumping man, who is moving at the high speed of the bus, would tend to remain in motion (due to inertia of motion) even on falling to the ground and getting hurt due to the resistance offered by ground. (Inertia of motion)