Question

multiple-choice question when a player kicks a ball, which is true? the more mass the ball has, the faster it will accelerate. the less mass the ball has, the faster it will accelerate. the less mass the ball has, the slower it will accelerate. the acceleration will be the same for a ball of any mass.

Explanation:

To solve this, we use Newton's second law, \( F = ma \) (force equals mass times acceleration). When a player kicks a ball, the force \( F \) applied is approximately constant (assuming the kick strength is similar). Rearranging the formula to solve for acceleration gives \( a=\frac{F}{m} \). This shows that acceleration \( a \) is inversely proportional to mass \( m \) when force \( F \) is constant. So, as mass decreases, acceleration increases, and as mass increases, acceleration decreases.

• The first option is wrong because more mass would lead to less acceleration (since \( a=\frac{F}{m} \), larger \( m \) means smaller \( a \) for constant \( F \)).
• The second option is correct: less mass means \( \frac{F}{m} \) is larger, so faster acceleration.
• The third option is wrong because less mass should increase, not decrease, acceleration.
• The fourth option is wrong because acceleration depends on mass (from \( a=\frac{F}{m} \)), so it's not the same for different masses.

Answer:

B. The less mass the ball has, the faster it will accelerate. (Note: Assuming the second option is labeled as B; if the original options had different labels, adjust the label but keep the text. Since the user's image shows the second option with the "I" mark, we identify the correct statement as "The less mass the ball has, the faster it will accelerate".)