What term describes the resistance to a change in motion when a force is applied?

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Inertia is the resistance to a change in motion when a force is applied. It’s the property of matter that makes an object tend to keep moving at the same velocity or stay at rest unless a net external force acts on it. Mass is a measure of inertia—the more mass, the greater the resistance to changes in motion. This is captured by Newton's first law: objects maintain their state of motion unless acted on by a net force. For example, a heavy object requires more force to start moving than a light one, illustrating greater inertia. Momentum, while related to motion, describes the amount of motion an object has after it’s already moving (mass times velocity), not the resistance to changing that motion. Weight is the gravitational force on the mass, and friction is a force that opposes motion between surfaces; neither defines the intrinsic resistance to changes in motion.