A student is investigating mass and acceleration. The student applies the same force to two boxes, as shown in the table.
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 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.
Lighter objects need greater force than heavier objects to start moving but will accelerate at the same rate.
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.
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.
The student is investigating the relationship between mass and acceleration. They are applying the same force to two different boxes and making a claim about the mass of the boxes based on their observations.
In this scenario, the best argument to support the student's claim is: "Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate."
To understand why this argument supports the claim, we need to go back to Newton's Second Law of Motion. According to this law, the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = m*a). This equation shows that force is directly proportional to mass and acceleration.
If the student is applying the same force to both boxes, but box 1 experiences a greater acceleration compared to box 2, then according to Newton's Second Law, box 1 must have a smaller mass than box 2. This is because if the force is the same, but the acceleration is different, the only variable that could account for this difference is the mass of the objects.
Therefore, the argument "Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate" best supports the student's claim that box 1 must have a smaller mass than box 2.