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 10m / (s ^ 2) and box 2 experiences an acceleration of 5m / (s ^ 5) * 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) Lighter objects need greater 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. Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate. Heavier objects need less 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.

The argument that best 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 determine which argument best supports the student's claim, we need to consider Newton's second law of motion. According to this law, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass.

The student applies the same force of 40 N to both boxes. However, box 1 experiences an acceleration of 10 m/s^2, while box 2 experiences an acceleration of 5 m/s^2 * 2.

If we rearrange Newton's second law equation:
F = ma

We can see that the net force applied (F) is directly proportional to the product of mass (m) and acceleration (a).

Therefore, if the acceleration is smaller for box 1 compared to box 2, and the force applied is the same for both boxes, then box 1 must have a larger mass than box 2.

The argument that supports the student's claim is, "Heavier objects need less force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate." This aligns with Newton's second law, as greater mass requires less force to achieve the same acceleration.