According to Newton’s Second Law of Motion, an object will accelerate if you apply what kind of force?
A. inertial force
B. frictional force
C. balanced force
D. unbalanced force

Question

According to Newton’s Second Law of Motion, an object will accelerate if you apply what kind of force?
A. inertial force
B. frictional force
C. balanced force
D. unbalanced force

fifciol · Answer

any idea?

anonymous · Answer

Well, you can look at Newton's Second Law of Motion:$$F=ma$$where F is force; m is mass; and a is acceleration.  If you have multiple forces acting on an object, the law becomes:$$F _{net}=\Sigma m _{i}a _{i}$$where the i represents 1,2,3....  Now if there is a net force, there has to be an acceleration.  It doesn't matter what sort of force is acting on the object.  It can be inertial, friction, and etc.  If all of the forces are balanced, Fnet=0, which means no acceleration.  If the forces are unbalanced, Fnet≠0, there will be an acceleration.

The question is poorly worded, but the best answer is D.