Question

the table below shows the force a student used to throw the different sports equipment twenty yards.

sports equipment	force (n)	mass (g)
soccer ball	20 n	18 g
tennis ball	20 n	5 g
golf ball	20 n	8 g

which statement best describes how the force and mass would affect the acceleration of the sports equipment?

• the football would have more acceleration than the golf ball because it has more mass
• the football would have less acceleration than the golf ball because it has more mass
• the football would have the same acceleration as the golf ball because the student used the same amount of force
• the football would have more acceleration than the golf ball because it has less mass

Explanation:

To solve this, we use Newton's second law of motion, \( F = ma \) (where \( F \) is force, \( m \) is mass, and \( a \) is acceleration). Rearranging for acceleration gives \( a=\frac{F}{m} \). When force \( F \) is constant, acceleration \( a \) is inversely proportional to mass \( m \) (i.e., as mass increases, acceleration decreases, and vice versa).

• The force applied to all equipment is 20 N (constant force).
• Football has a mass of 20 g, and golf ball has a mass of 8 g. Since football’s mass (\( 20 \, \text{g} \)) is greater than golf ball’s mass (\( 8 \, \text{g} \)), using \( a=\frac{F}{m} \), the football will have less acceleration than the golf ball (because a larger mass with constant force leads to smaller acceleration).

Let’s analyze the options:

• Option 1: Incorrect. More mass (with constant force) means less acceleration, not more.
• Option 2: Correct. Football has more mass than golf ball, so with same force, it has less acceleration.
• Option 3: Incorrect. Acceleration depends on mass (inverse relationship with mass when force is constant), so they won’t have the same acceleration.
• Option 4: Incorrect. Football has more mass (20 g) than golf ball (8 g), not less.

Answer:

B. The football would have less acceleration than the golf ball because it has more mass