Which scenario best illustrates Newton's second law of motion?

Which scenario best illustrates Newton's second law of motion?

• A. A heavyweight ball and a light ball are pushed with different forces.
• B. A lightweight toy car and a heavy toy truck are pushed by the same child; the small car speeds up faster.
• C. Two identical carts are pushed by different forces; they accelerate the same.
• D. A book resting on a table shows no motion.

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that acceleration comes from the amount of force applied and the mass of the object, described by a = F/m. When the same push is applied to two objects with different masses, the lighter one has less inertia and will accelerate more, while the heavier one accelerates less. In the scenario where a child uses the same push on both a lightweight toy car and a heavy toy truck, the small car speeds up faster, illustrating the inverse relationship between mass and acceleration that Newton’s second law describes. The other situations don’t show this direct link: pushing with different forces on different masses doesn’t isolate how acceleration changes with mass when force is fixed; two identical carts with different forces would not accelerate the same; and a book at rest demonstrates equilibrium, not how force and mass determine motion.

The main idea is that acceleration comes from the amount of force applied and the mass of the object, described by a = F/m. When the same push is applied to two objects with different masses, the lighter one has less inertia and will accelerate more, while the heavier one accelerates less. In the scenario where a child uses the same push on both a lightweight toy car and a heavy toy truck, the small car speeds up faster, illustrating the inverse relationship between mass and acceleration that Newton’s second law describes. The other situations don’t show this direct link: pushing with different forces on different masses doesn’t isolate how acceleration changes with mass when force is fixed; two identical carts with different forces would not accelerate the same; and a book at rest demonstrates equilibrium, not how force and mass determine motion.