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An 8 kg desk and a 2 kg textbook are both pushed with the same force of 5 N. Which one is going to have the higher acceleration and why? Explain using Newton's 2nd law.​

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Final answer:

The textbook will have the higher acceleration because it has a smaller mass.

Step-by-step explanation:

The acceleration of an object depends on its mass and the force applied to it, according to Newton's second law of motion. The formula for Newton's second law is F = ma, where F is the force, m is the mass, and a is the acceleration.

In this case, the force applied is the same for both the 8 kg desk and the 2 kg textbook, which is 5 N. Since the force is the same, the object with the lower mass will have a higher acceleration.

Therefore, the textbook, with a mass of 2 kg, will have a higher acceleration than the desk with a mass of 8 kg. This is because the same force is applied to both objects, but the smaller mass of the textbook allows for a greater acceleration.

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