Question

force & motion
newtons second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object as produced by an unbalanced force is directly proportional
to the magnitude of the force, in the same direction as the force, and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
this can be summarized mathematically as:
force = mass × acceleration
in other words, when a net force is applied to an object, the object will be accelerated in the direction of the force. the greater the
force, the greater the acceleration of the object, but the heavier the object, the less it will be accelerated.
the chart below summarizes the forces applied to five different objects. which object will experience the greatest acceleration?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate acceleration for each object

According to Newton's second law \(a=\frac{F}{m}\) (where \(a\) is acceleration, \(F\) is force, \(m\) is mass).

• For object \(V\): \(a_{V}=\frac{960}{12.0}\)
• For object \(W\): \(a_{W}=\frac{510}{13.0}\)
• For object \(X\): \(a_{X}=\frac{290}{10.0}\)
• For object \(Y\): \(a_{Y}=\frac{980}{13.0}\)
• For object \(Z\): \(a_{Z}=\frac{290}{14.0}\)

Step2: Compute the values

• \(a_{V}=\frac{960}{12.0} = 80\space m/s^{2}\)
• \(a_{W}=\frac{510}{13.0}\approx39.23\space m/s^{2}\)
• \(a_{X}=\frac{290}{10.0}=29\space m/s^{2}\)
• \(a_{Y}=\frac{980}{13.0}\approx75.38\space m/s^{2}\)
• \(a_{Z}=\frac{290}{14.0}\approx20.71\space m/s^{2}\)

Answer:

Object \(V\) will experience the greatest acceleration.