A student collects data during an investigation about inertia and acceleration.
if the force acting on the objects is constant, which statement about inertia and acceleration is supported by the data?
an object with less mass has more inertia which causes it to speed up more quickly.
an object with less mass has less inertia which causes it to seed up less quickly.
an object with a higher mass less inertia which causes it to speed up more quickly.
an object with a higher mass has more inertia which causes it to speed up less quickly.
The correct statement supported by the data is: an object with a higher mass has more inertia which causes it to speed up less quickly.
According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. In other words, if the force acting on an object is constant, an object with a higher mass will have a lower acceleration. This means that it will speed up less quickly compared to an object with less mass.
The correct statement supported by the data is:
"An object with a higher mass has more inertia which causes it to speed up less quickly."
To determine the correct statement about inertia and acceleration based on the collected data, we need to understand the concepts of inertia and acceleration.
Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its motion, particularly changes in speed or direction. It is directly related to an object's mass. The greater the mass of an object, the greater its inertia.
Acceleration, on the other hand, is the rate at which an object changes its velocity. It is directly related to the net force acting on the object. According to Newton's second law of motion, F=ma, where F is the force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration. If you keep the force constant, acceleration is directly proportional to the mass of the object.
Now let's analyze the statements one by one:
1. "An object with less mass has more inertia, which causes it to speed up more quickly." This statement is incorrect. Inertia is not directly related to how quickly an object speeds up. It only relates to an object's resistance to changes in motion. The rate at which an object speeds up or accelerates is determined by the net force acting on it, as stated by Newton's second law.
2. "An object with less mass has less inertia, which causes it to speed up less quickly." This statement is also incorrect. It incorrectly suggests that objects with less inertia accelerate less quickly. However, according to Newton's second law, an object with less mass will actually accelerate more quickly when the same force is applied, as the acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass.
3. "An object with higher mass has less inertia, which causes it to speed up more quickly." This statement is incorrect. It suggests that objects with higher mass have less inertia, which is incorrect. Objects with higher mass have more inertia and tend to resist changes in motion. Consequently, they accelerate less quickly compared to objects with lower mass.
4. "An object with higher mass has more inertia, which causes it to speed up less quickly." This statement is correct. According to Newton's second law, when the force acting on an object is constant, the acceleration is inversely proportional to the mass. This means that an object with higher mass has more inertia and tends to resist changes in motion. As a result, it speeds up less quickly compared to an object with lower mass.
Therefore, the correct statement, supported by the data, is: "An object with a higher mass has more inertia, which causes it to speed up less quickly."