Force, Mass and Acceleration Quick Check

Question

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Question
The same motor is used in rockets with different masses. The rockets have different accelerations. According to Newton’s second law, how is acceleration expected to change as the rocket mass increases? (1 point)
Responses

As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases.
As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases.

Acceleration cannot be predicted based on changes in mass.
Acceleration cannot be predicted based on changes in mass.

As rocket mass increases, acceleration increases.
As rocket mass increases, acceleration increases.

There are no changes in acceleration, as it would depend on the amount of force.

Answer 1

According to Newton's second law of motion, which states that \( F = ma \) (force equals mass times acceleration), we can deduce how acceleration is affected as mass changes while keeping the force constant (in this case, the thrust of the rocket's motor).

If the mass of the rocket increases while the force remains the same, the acceleration must decrease in order to satisfy the equation. This means that for a given force, a larger mass results in less acceleration.

Therefore, the correct response is:

As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases.