Question

Newton's second law states that the net force equals the product of mass and acceleration. A boat's mass of is `9.6×105 kg` and it experiences a net force of `1.5×104 kg*m/s^2`. What is its acceleration?

Answer 1

`0.15m/s^2`

Explanation:

Newton's second law states that:

`color(blue)(|bar(ul(color(white)(a/a)F_"net"=macolor(white)(a/a)|)))`

where:
`F_"net"=`net force
`m=`mass
`a=`acceleration

To solve for acceleration, rearrange the formula in terms of `a`.

`a=(F_"net")/m`

Plug in your known values.

`a=(1.5xx104kg*m/s^2)/(9.6xx105kg)`

Note: `kg*m/s^2` is also equal to `1N`.

Solve for `a`.

`a=(1.5xx104color(red)cancelcolor(black)(kg)*m/s^2)/(9.6xx105color(red)cancelcolor(black)(kg))`

`a=color(green)(|bar(ul(color(white)(a/a)color(black)(0.15m/s^2)color(white)(a/a)|)))`