In a football game, a defensive lineman exerts a force upon an offensive lineman, causing the offensive lineman to be accelerated backward at 2 m/s2. If the offensive lineman's mass were doubled, how much force would the defensive lineman have to apply to accelerate the offensive lineman 2 m/s2 backward?
A.
twice as much
B.
half as much
C.
the same amount
D.
four times as much
According to Newton's second law of motion, force is directly proportional to mass and acceleration. Therefore, if the mass of the offensive lineman is doubled while the acceleration remains the same, the force required to accelerate the offensive lineman will also double.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
A. twice as much.