Final answer:
On a frictionless surface, an object's mass has no effect on its acceleration because, in the absence of external forces, all objects would accelerate at the same rate due to gravity, which is independent of mass.
Step-by-step explanation:
On a frictionless surface, an object's mass does not affect its acceleration. According to Newton's second law of motion, acceleration is directly proportional to the net external force and inversely proportional to the mass of the object. However, in the absence of external forces, such as when neglecting air resistance or when an object is sliding down a frictionless incline, we find that all objects accelerate at the same rate. This rate is independent of the object's mass. For instance, on a theoretical frictionless incline, the acceleration down the incline is a = g sinθ, which is dependent only on the gravitational acceleration g and the angle of the incline θ, not the mass of the sliding object.
Experiments illustrate that when friction is nearly eliminated, such as when an object like a hockey puck glides over an air hockey table with the air turned on, the puck moves almost without changing speed due to the minimal friction. If the surface were perfectly frictionless, the object would continue at a constant speed (if initially moving) or stay at rest (if initially stationary) unless acted on by an external force. This observation is in line with Newton's first law of motion, or the law of inertia.
In summary, when on a frictionless surface, an object's acceleration is not influenced by its mass, meaning all objects would experience the same acceleration due to gravity if other factors like air resistance are also absent.