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

F = ma for both cases

if the force is the same, and the acceleration for one ball is much greater than for the other, what does that tell you about their masses?

if you're still unsure, try calculating m for both cases, and you'll see why the accelerations are different as well