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.
B. The student's claim is correct because acceleration increases as mass increases.
This is supported by the data in the table, where the soccer ball, which has a higher mass than the volleyball, has a lower acceleration. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the bowling ball, with a mass of 0.5 kg, would accelerate faster than both the soccer ball and the volleyball.