A trains velocity is slowly decreasing as it approaches a station. About 1 km before it reaches the station several stowaways jump off the train. What happens to the amount of acceleration if the force remains constant? Assume the train is traveling in the positive direction.
It will become less negative.
It will become more negative.
It will remain the same.
It will become more positive.
It will become less negative
It currently has a negative acceleration, since F = ma, if m gets smaller and F remains the same than a has to get bigger, this means that the acceleration increases in a positive direction. Since it was accelerating negatively, it will become less negative as compared to more positive.
If the force remains constant and the velocity of the train is decreasing as it approaches the station, the acceleration will become more positive. This is because acceleration is equal to the change in velocity divided by the change in time, and as the velocity decreases, the change in velocity becomes negative. However, since the force remains constant in the positive direction, the acceleration will become more positive to counteract the negative change in velocity and bring the train to a stop.
To understand what happens to the acceleration, let's review the relationship between acceleration, force, and mass. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, this can be represented as:
Acceleration = Net Force / Mass
In this scenario, the force on the train remains constant, and since the train is losing mass (as stowaways jump off), the mass is decreasing. Therefore, the acceleration will become more positive, meaning its magnitude will increase.
To further understand this, consider the signs of the force and acceleration. The train is slowing down, so the acceleration is in the opposite direction of its motion, i.e., negative. Similarly, the force acting on the train is in the opposite direction of its motion, also negative. However, since the mass is decreasing, the magnitude of the acceleration will increase, making it less negative (-5 m/s^2 could become -7 m/s^2). The negative sign represents the opposite direction, and the increase in magnitude indicates that the train is decelerating faster.
Therefore, the correct answer is: It will become more negative.
c. It will remain the same.
F = M*a.
a = F/M.