Annie has a soccer ball and a kickball. She kicks each ball with the same force. The soccer ball accelerates at 3 m/s2, and the kickball accelerates at 5 m/s2.

Use Newton’s laws to describe why the kickball has a greater acceleration.

Question

Annie has a soccer ball and a kickball. She kicks each ball with the same force. The soccer ball accelerates at 3 m/s2, and the kickball accelerates at 5 m/s2.

Use Newton’s laws to describe why the kickball has a greater acceleration.

Mercury · Answer

Newton's second law: F = ma, where F is force, m is mass, a is acceleration

the same force is being applied, so F is the same in both scenarios. if a is greater for the kickball, what must be true about m?