Asked by C.W

A boat company claims that a motor with double the force will make a boat&#39;s top speed twice as fast. Considering that water resistance increases with speed, is this claim valid according to Newton&#39;s Second Law?</p><p></p>(1 point)

Yes, the claim is valid because doubling the force will always double the final top speed.

No, the claim is not valid because doubling the force makes the boat less stable in water.

No, the claim is not valid because increasing water resistance prevents the top speed from doubling.

Yes, the claim is valid, but only if the mass of the boat is also doubled.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
No, the claim is not valid because increasing water resistance prevents the top speed from doubling.

At top speed acceleration is zero, so thrust = drag (net force = 0 by Newton's 2nd law). Water drag rises with speed (roughly ∝ v^2 at typical boat speeds), so v scales like sqrt(thrust). Doubling thrust gives v × sqrt(2), not 2 × v.