Force Around & Find Out
A 4 kg toy truck accelerates at 3 m/s². What net force acts on the truck?
12 N; F = 4 × 3
A net force of 20 N causes an object to accelerate at 4 m/s². What is its mass?
5 kg; m = 20 ÷ 4
A 3 kg object experiences a net force of 12 N. What is its acceleration?
4 m/s²; a = 12 ÷ 3
Two students push a cart in the same direction. One applies 12 N to the right and the other applies 8 N. No other horizontal forces act. What is the net force?
20 N to the right; 12 + 8
An object has zero net force acting on it. What is its acceleration? Does this mean it must be stopped?
0 m/s². No, it could be at rest or moving at constant speed in the same direction.
A 7 kg wagon accelerates at 2 m/s². What net force acts on the wagon?
14 N; F = 7 × 2
A cart accelerates at 3 m/s² when it experiences a net force of 27 N. What is the cart’s mass?
9 kg; m = 27 ÷ 3
A 6 kg cart experiences a net force of 30 N. Calculate its acceleration.
5 m/s²; a = 30 ÷ 6
A box experiences 25 N to the right and 10 N to the left. What is its net force? Include direction.
15 N right; 25 − 10
A cart’s mass stays the same while its net force doubles. What happens to its acceleration?
Its acceleration increases because a = F ÷ m.
A 10 kg cart accelerates at 1.5 m/s². Calculate the net force acting on it.
15 N; F = 10 × 1.5
A net force of 45 N causes a wagon to accelerate at 5 m/s². Calculate the wagon’s mass.
9 kg; m = 45 ÷ 5
A 12 kg wagon experiences a net force of 18 N. What is its acceleration?
1.5 m/s²; a = 18 ÷ 12
A 5 kg box experiences 30 N right and 10 N left. Calculate its net force AND acceleration.
20 N right; 4 m/s² right; a = 20 ÷ 5
Two carts experience the same net force. Cart A has a mass of 4 kg; Cart B has a mass of 8 kg. Which accelerates more? How do their accelerations compare?
Cart A has twice Cart B’s acceleration. With equal net force, doubling mass halves acceleration.
A soccer ball has a mass of 0.5 kg and accelerates at 8 m/s². What net force acts on the ball?
4 N; F = 0.5 × 8
A net force of 18 N causes an object to accelerate at 1.5 m/s². What is the object’s mass?
12 kg; m = 18 ÷ 1.5
A 0.4 kg toy car experiences a net force of 2 N. What is its acceleration?
5 m/s²; a = 2 ÷ 0.4
A 10 kg cart experiences 35 N east and 15 N west. Calculate its net force AND acceleration.
20 N east; 2 m/s² east; a = 20 ÷ 10
Cart A: mass = 2 kg, net force = 6 N. Cart B: mass = 4 kg, net force = 8 N. A student says Cart B accelerates more because it has more net force. Is the student correct? Show calculations.
No. A: 6 ÷ 2 = 3 m/s²; B: 8 ÷ 4 = 2 m/s². Cart A accelerates more.
A wagon has a mass of 8 kg. Its passenger has a mass of 32 kg. What net force is needed to accelerate the wagon and passenger together at 2 m/s²?
80 N; total mass = 40 kg; F = 40 × 2
A toy rocket experiences a net force of 6 N and accelerates at 12 m/s². What is its mass?
0.5 kg; m = 6 ÷ 12
Cart A has a mass of 4 kg and experiences 12 N of net force. Cart B has a mass of 6 kg and experiences 24 N of net force. Calculate both accelerations. Which is greater?
A: 3 m/s²; B: 4 m/s². Cart B accelerates more.
An 8 kg cart experiences 12 N west and 28 N east. A student says its acceleration is 3.5 m/s² east because 28 ÷ 8 = 3.5. Explain the mistake and calculate the correct acceleration.
The student did not find net force first. F = 28 − 12 = 16 N east; a = 16 ÷ 8 = 2 m/s² east
A cart initially has a mass of 4 kg and a net force of 12 N. Later, its mass doubles to 8 kg and its net force doubles to 24 N. Does its acceleration change? Prove your answer.
No. Initially: 12 ÷ 4 = 3 m/s². Later: 24 ÷ 8 = 3 m/s².