A spring scale shows a net force of 1N acting on a 2 kg mass. What happens to the acceleration of the object if the net force is decreased to 0.5 N?
According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force applied and inversely proportional to the mass of the object.
In this case, the net force is initially 1N and the mass is 2kg. We can use the equation F=ma to find the initial acceleration (a).
1N = (2kg) * a
a = 1N / 2kg
a = 0.5 m/s^2
If the net force is decreased to 0.5N while the mass remains the same, we can again use the equation F=ma to find the new acceleration (a').
0.5N = (2kg) * a'
a' = 0.5N / 2kg
a' = 0.25 m/s^2
Thus, the acceleration of the object decreases from 0.5 m/s^2 to 0.25 m/s^2 when the net force is decreased from 1N to 0.5N.