Question

An object has 16 N of force applied to the right, 16 N of force being applied to left, and 4 N of force being applied downward. What is the acceleration of the object if it's mass is 0.35 kg?
11.4 m/s²
34.3 m/s²
45.7 m/s²
102.9 m/s²

Answer 1

To determine the acceleration of the object, we first need to find the net force acting on it.

1. **Horizontal Forces**:
- Force to the right: 16 N
- Force to the left: 16 N
- Net force in the horizontal direction = 16 N (right) - 16 N (left) = 0 N

2. **Vertical Forces**:
- There is only a downward force of 4 N.
- Since there are no upward forces mentioned, the net force in the vertical direction is -4 N (downward).

3. **Net Force**:
- Since the net horizontal force is 0 N, the only effective net force is downward: \( F_{\text{net}} = -4 \, \text{N} \).

4. **Calculating Acceleration**:
- We can use Newton's second law which states:
\[
F_{\text{net}} = m \cdot a
\]
- Rearranging it gives:
\[
a = \frac{F_{\text{net}}}{m}
\]

- Substituting the values:
\[
a = \frac{-4 \, \text{N}}{0.35 \, \text{kg}} = -11.43 \, \text{m/s}^2
\]
- The negative sign indicates the direction of acceleration is downward.

Since the options given are positive values, we'll consider the magnitude of the acceleration:
- The magnitude of the acceleration is approximately **11.4 m/s²**.

So the correct answer is **11.4 m/s²**.