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)

Question

Responses

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

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.

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

Answer 1

According to Newton's second law, the acceleration of an object is inversely proportional to its mass when the force is constant. This can be summarized by the formula \( F = ma \), where \( F \) is the force applied, \( m \) is the mass, and \( a \) is the acceleration.

If the same motor produces a constant thrust (force), as the rocket mass increases, the acceleration will decrease. This is because a larger mass requires more force to achieve the same acceleration.

Therefore, the correct response is:

As rocket mass increases, acceleration decreases.