A student is demonstrating acceleration by throwing two balls. She throws both balls using the same amount of force in the same direction. The first ball she throws has a mass of 0.25 kg and the second ball has a mass of 0.5 kg.

Question

Explain what will happen to their acceleration and why.

(1 point)
Responses

The first ball has a smaller mass, so it will have greater acceleration than the second ball.
The first ball has a smaller mass, so it will have greater acceleration than the second ball.

The first ball has a smaller mass, so it will have less acceleration than the second ball.
The first ball has a smaller mass, so it will have less acceleration than the second ball.

The balls have equal acceleration because they are being thrown in the same direction.
The balls have equal acceleration because they are being thrown in the same direction.

The balls will have equal acceleration because they are being thrown with the same force.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

The first ball has a smaller mass, so it will have greater acceleration than the second ball.

This is based on Newton's second law of motion, which states that acceleration (a) is directly proportional to the force (F) applied and inversely proportional to the mass (m) of the object: \( a = \frac{F}{m} \). Since the student is applying the same force to both balls, the ball with the smaller mass (0.25 kg) will experience greater acceleration compared to the ball with the larger mass (0.5 kg).