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.
D. The student's claim is incorrect because acceleration decreases as mass increases.
According to Newton's second law of motion, acceleration is directly proportional to force and inversely proportional to mass. Therefore, a heavier bowling ball with a mass of 0.5 kg would actually have a slower acceleration compared to the volleyball and soccer ball with lower masses.