According to Newton's Second Law of Motion, in which of these situation is the object accelerating.
A) A book on a shelf
B) A rock hitting the ground
C) a helium balloon tied to a lamp post
D) a ball that has been thrown upward
which choice describes something that is actually moving?
is it c?
Which one is it
To determine which situation follows Newton's Second Law of Motion and involves an object accelerating, we need to consider the key components of the law. Newton's Second Law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, it can be expressed as F = ma, where F represents the net force, m represents the mass of the object, and a represents the acceleration.
Now, let's analyze each situation one by one:
A) A book on a shelf: In this scenario, the book is at rest on the shelf, meaning that there is no change in its velocity. Since acceleration is the rate of change of velocity, and there is no velocity change, the book is not accelerating.
B) A rock hitting the ground: This situation does involve acceleration. As the rock falls, the force of gravity is acting on it. Since the rock experiences a net force due to gravity, it will accelerate as it descends towards the ground.
C) A helium balloon tied to a lamp post: In this scenario, the balloon is stationary as it is tied to the lamp post. Again, since it has no change in velocity, it is not accelerating.
D) A ball that has been thrown upward: This situation also involves acceleration. When the ball is thrown upward, it experiences an initial force imparted by the thrower. As gravity acts in the opposite direction, the ball slows down until it reaches its peak height. During this upward motion, the ball experiences acceleration.
Therefore, the situations that involve acceleration according to Newton's Second Law are B) A rock hitting the ground and D) A ball that has been thrown upward.