Question

How fast will an object with a mass of `7 kg` accelerate if a force of `38 N` is constantly applied to it?

Answer 1

The acceleration is `~~"5 m/s"^2"`.

Explanation:

From Newton's second law, we have the equation `F=ma`, where, in SI units, `F` is the force in Newtons, or `"kg·m/s"^2"`, `m` is mass in kg, and `a` is acceleration in `"m/s"^2"`.

Given
`F="38 N"="38 kg·m/s"^2"`
`m="7 kg"`

Unknown
`a`

Solution
Rearrange the equation to isolate `a` and solve.

`F=ma`

`a=F/m`

`a=(38"N")/(7"kg")`

`a=(38cancel"kg"·"m/s"^2)/(7cancel"kg")="5.4 m/s"^2` `~~` `"5 m/s"^2"` (rounded to one significant figures)