A student is investigating mass and acceleration. The student applies the same force of 40 N force to two boxes that have the same size and shape. Box 1 experiences an acceleration of 10 m/s^2 and box 2 experiences an acceleration of 5m/s^2.
The student claims that box 1 must have a smaller mass than box 2. Which argument best supports the student's claim?(1 point)
Responses
Heavier objects need less force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate.
Heavier objects need less force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate.
Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate.
Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate.
Lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate.
Lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate.
Lighter objects need greater force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate.
The correct answer is: Lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate.
The correct argument that supports the student's claim is:
"Lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate."
This argument corresponds to the situation where the same force of 40 N is applied to both boxes, but Box 1 experiences a higher acceleration of 10 m/s^2 compared to Box 2's acceleration of 5 m/s^2. This implies that Box 1 must have a smaller mass, as lighter objects require less force to achieve the same acceleration.
The correct argument that supports the student's claim is "Lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate."
To understand why this argument is correct, we need to recall Newton's second law of motion, which states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, this law can be represented as F = ma, where F is the net force, m is the mass of the object, and a is the acceleration.
In the given scenario, the student applies the same force of 40 N to both boxes, but the resulting accelerations are different. Box 1 experiences an acceleration of 10 m/s^2, while box 2 experiences an acceleration of 5 m/s^2.
According to Newton's second law, if the net force is the same for both boxes (40 N), but the accelerations are different, the mass of the objects must also be different.
Now, referring back to the argument, it states that lighter objects need less force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate. This aligns with Newton's second law because a lighter object will have a smaller mass, and therefore will require less force to achieve the same acceleration as a heavier object. Therefore, the student's claim that box 1 must have a smaller mass than box 2 is supported by this argument.