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
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.
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.
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.
The argument that best supports 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 student's claim, we need to refer to Newton's second law of motion, which states that the force acting on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = m * a).
In this case, the student is applying the same force to both Box 1 and Box 2. If Box 1 is moving with the same acceleration as Box 2, then according to Newton's second law, the mass of Box 1 must be smaller than the mass of Box 2.
This is because, if the force is constant and the acceleration is the same, a smaller mass will result in a smaller product of mass and acceleration (F = m * a), meaning that Box 1 must have a smaller mass compared to Box 2.
Therefore, the argument "Heavier objects need greater force than lighter objects to accelerate at the same rate" supports the student's claim that Box 1 must have a smaller mass than Box 2.