What is inertia? How does it explain why a golf ball sitting on a tee will never move unless a force acts on it?
Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion. It is a property of matter that causes an object to stay at rest or to keep moving in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by an external force.
In the case of a golf ball sitting on a tee, the ball remains stationary because of its inertia. The ball will continue to stay at rest until a force is applied to it, such as when a golfer hits it with a club. Once the force is applied, the ball's inertia will cause it to move in the direction of the force until another force (such as air resistance or friction with the ground) acts upon it to slow it down.