The same motor is used in rockets with different masses. The rockets have different accelerations. According to Newton's second law, how is acceleration expected to change as the rocket mass increases?

Question

The same motor is used in rockets with different masses. The rockets have different accelerations. According to Newton's second law, how is acceleration expected to change as the rocket mass increases?

• Acceleration cannot be predicted based on changes in mass.
• There are no changes in acceleration, as it would depend on the amount of force.
• As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases.
• As rocket mass increases, acceleration increases.

Answer 1

According to Newton's second law, as the mass of the rocket increases, the acceleration is expected to decrease. This is because the force acting on the rocket remains constant (assuming the same motor is used), but the mass of the rocket increases. As a result, the acceleration decreases as the mass increases. Therefore, the correct answer is "As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases."