A student is performing an investigation. She applies the same amount of force to a soccer ball and a volleyball and observes their acceleration. She records her data in the table.

Question

A student is performing an investigation. She applies the same amount of force to a soccer ball and a volleyball and observes their acceleration. She records her data in the table.

Ball Mass (kilograms) Force (newtons) Acceleration (meters/second2)
soccer ball 0.45 50 111
volleyball 0.28 50 178

The student claims that a bowling ball with a mass of 0.5 kg will accelerate faster than the volleyball and the soccer ball. Which statement BEST evaluates the student's claim?

A.
The student's claim is correct because acceleration decreases as mass increases.

B.
The student's claim is correct because acceleration increases as mass increases.

C.
The student's claim is incorrect because acceleration decreases as mass increases.

D.
The student's claim is incorrect because acceleration increases as mass increases.

Answer 1

D. The student's claim is incorrect because acceleration does not necessarily increase as mass increases. The acceleration of an object is influenced by both the force applied and the mass of the object, as seen in the data with the soccer ball and volleyball. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that a bowling ball with a mass of 0.5 kg will accelerate faster than the soccer ball and volleyball just because it has a higher mass.