Question

Tessa uses a toy slingshot to launch a tennis ball across the park for her dog to fetch. For her first launch, she

uses 100 N of force. Her second launch uses 200 N of force, and her third launch uses 300 N. Which launch had
the greatest acceleration of the tennis ball?

Answer 1

See the explanation below.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem we must apply Newton's second law, which tells us that the sum of forces on a body is equal to the product of mass by acceleration and this force can be calculated by means of the following equation.

F = m*a

where:

F = force [N] (units of Newtons)

m = mass [kg]

a = acceleration [m/s²]

The mass of the tennis ball will always be the same therefore it will never change.

Now clearing a:

`a=(F)/(m)`

If the mass of the ball remains the same:

`a = (100)/(m) ; a = (200)/(m);a =(300)/(m)`

We see that for a force of 300 [N], the acceleration exerted on the ball must be greater. Therefore with the force of 300 [N] the greatest acceleration is achieved.