An object is accelerating at 2 m/s^2. If the net force is tripled, and the mass remains the same, what is the new acceleration?
b. If the acceleration is still 2m/s^2, the mass is doubled and the net force remains the same, what is the new acceleration?
c. If the acceleration is still 2 m/s^2, the mass is tripled and the net force is doubled, what is the new acceleration?
F=ma
3ma = m(3a)
ma = (2m)(a/2)
2ma = (3m)(2/3 a)
To answer these questions, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, this is expressed as:
a = F/m
where:
a = acceleration
F = net force
m = mass
a. If the net force is tripled, and the mass remains the same, the new acceleration can be found by substituting the new force value into the equation:
a = (3F)/m
Since the mass remains the same, we only need to triple the net force to find the new acceleration.
b. If the acceleration is still 2 m/s^2, the mass is doubled, and the net force remains the same, the new acceleration can be found by substituting the new mass value into the equation:
(2m)/m = 2
Since the acceleration remains the same, doubling the mass does not affect the acceleration.
c. If the acceleration is still 2 m/s^2, the mass is tripled, and the net force is doubled, the new acceleration can be found by substituting the new mass and force values into the equation:
a = (2F)/(3m)
The acceleration will be halved since both the mass and net force have changed.