Question

prompt
use the terms \force\, \weight\, \mass\, and \inertia\ to explain why it is easier to tackle a 220 lb football player than a 288 lb football player.
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Explanation:

• Mass: Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object. The 220 - lb player has less mass than the 288 - lb player.
• Weight: Weight (\(W = mg\), where \(m\) is mass and \(g\) is the acceleration due to gravity) is related to mass. A lower - mass player has lower weight (assuming \(g\) is constant).
• Inertia: Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion. It is directly related to mass (\(F=ma\), from Newton's second law, where \(F\) is force and \(a\) is acceleration). A more massive object (288 - lb player) has more inertia.
• Force: To tackle (change the motion of) a player, a force must be applied. A player with more inertia (higher mass) requires a greater force to change their motion (tackle them) compared to a less - massive (lower - inertia) player.

Answer:

It is easier to tackle the 220 - lb football player because, with less mass, it has less weight (since \(W = mg\)), less inertia (as inertia is proportional to mass), and thus requires less force (from \(F = ma\)) to change its state of motion (tackle it) compared to the 288 - lb player.