Question

Which object will have more acceleration if he uses the same amount of force on each object?



a
10 kg box
b
2 10 kg boxes

Answer 1

According to Newton's second law of motion, acceleration (a) of an object is directly proportional to the force (F) applied to it and inversely proportional to its mass (m). This relationship is described by the formula:

a = F / m

Let's consider both scenarios:

a) For the 10 kg box:
If we apply a constant force F to a single 10 kg box, the acceleration a1 of this box would be:

a1 = F / 10 kg

b) For two 10 kg boxes (assuming they are attached together and have a combined mass of 20 kg):
If we apply the same constant force F to the two 10 kg boxes, their combined mass would be 20 kg, and the acceleration a2 would be:

a2 = F / 20 kg

Since 20 kg is twice the mass of a single 10 kg box, the acceleration would be half as much when applying the same force to the two boxes as opposed to the single box. Therefore, the 10 kg box (option a) would have a greater acceleration than the two 10 kg boxes combined (option b) when the same amount of force is used on each.