Question

Why do we beat a carpet with a stick while dusting a carpet?

Answer 1

An object’s inertia tends to resist any change in its state of rest or motion. If we beat a carpet with a stick, the carpet begins to move. Nevertheless, the particles of dust are trying to withstand their state of rest. This concept can be described based on Newton’s first law of motion.

Complete step by step solution:
The law of inertia or also known as Newton’s law of motion states that Inertia of rest or motion where the object remains in rest or motion until an external force acts on it. When the carpet is beaten with a stick, the stick applies a force on the carpet, which sets it in motion. The inertia of the dust particles existing on the carpet resists the variation in the carpet’s motion. Therefore, the carpet having a forward motion puts forth a backward force on the dust particles, setting them in motion in the opposing direction. Because of this, the dust comes out of the carpet when beaten. In other words, we can say that the dust comes out of it because of the law of inertia. Primarily the dust particles are at rest alongside the carpet. While beating the carpet with the stick makes the carpet move but the dust particles will remain at rest due to the law of inertia, and hence the dust gets separated from the carpet.

Note: Inertia can be defined as a property of matter by which it remains at the state of rest or in uniform motion in the same straight line until or unless acted upon by some external force. There are two types of Inertia defined by Newton which are Inertia of rest and motion. If an object is dropped from rest and attains speed at a steady rate (as it would in free-fall or it can be rolling down an inclined plane), then the total distance covered by the object is proportional to the time squared required for that travel.