What is the inertia of a …

The inertia of motion can be understood as follows: For a body that is already in a state of motion, it will have a tendency to continue in exactly the same state of motion (with the same speed and the same direction) unless an external unbalanced force acts upon it to change that state of motion. Some common examples of the inertia of motion that can be observed in our daily lives include:

1. While sitting in the passenger’s position on a motorcycle, the sudden application of brakes by the driver causes the passenger to experience a push in the forward direction. This is because the passenger is in a state of motion in the forward direction and the inertia of motion always opposes the change in the state of motion.
2. When the passenger of a bus attempts to jump out of the moving bus, the inertia of motion causes him or her to fall down or temporarily lose his/her balance. This is because when the passenger jumps, the inertia of motion of the body tends to oppose the change in state of the body (it wants to continue in the state of motion of the bus rather than coming to a state of rest).