Question
Several motorboats with the same mass are used in an experiment. The forces of the different motors versus their accelerations are graphed. What is the y-intercept of this graph? (1 point)
Responses
the velocity
the velocity
the mass
the mass
zero
zero
the inverse of the mass
Responses
the velocity
the velocity
the mass
the mass
zero
zero
the inverse of the mass
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The y-intercept of a graph that plots force (y-axis) versus acceleration (x-axis) describes the relationship given by Newton's second law of motion, \( F = ma \), where \( F \) is force, \( m \) is mass, and \( a \) is acceleration.
In this scenario, if we rearrange the equation, we can express the force as a function of acceleration:
\[ F = m \cdot a + 0 \]
In this case, if we consider acceleration to be zero, the force exerted by the motorboat would also be zero. Therefore, the y-intercept, which represents the value of force when acceleration is zero, would be:
**zero**
So, the correct response is "zero."
In this scenario, if we rearrange the equation, we can express the force as a function of acceleration:
\[ F = m \cdot a + 0 \]
In this case, if we consider acceleration to be zero, the force exerted by the motorboat would also be zero. Therefore, the y-intercept, which represents the value of force when acceleration is zero, would be:
**zero**
So, the correct response is "zero."