Which object will accelerate more if the student exerts an equal amount of force on each object?

A.) 10 kg box
B.) two 10 kg boxes

1 answer

The acceleration of an object depends on its mass and the force applied to it. According to Newton's second law of motion, the formula to calculate acceleration is:

acceleration = force / mass

In this case, the force applied to each object is the same. However, the mass of the objects is different.

A.) 10 kg box: acceleration = force / mass = same force / 10 kg = force/10 kg
B.) two 10 kg boxes: acceleration = force / mass = same force / (2 * 10 kg) = force / 20 kg

Since both objects have different masses, the 10 kg box will experience a greater acceleration if the student exerts an equal amount of force on each object.