Question

A person accelerates a 1kg ball 5.0m/s2 horizontally. the vertical acceleration of the ball is zero. the force of gravity is the only external force acting on the ball other than the forces the person exerts on it. how large is the horizontal force the person exerts on the ball at this instant to cause its 5.0m/s2 horizontal acceleration?

Answer 1

The person must exert a horizontal force of 5.0 newtons on the ball to achieve the desired horizontal acceleration of 5.0 m/s^2, as per Newton's second law of motion.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the horizontal force the person must exert on the ball to cause a horizontal acceleration of 5.0 m/s2, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that the net force exerted on an object is equal to the mass of the object multiplied by its acceleration (F = ma).

Given that the mass (m) of the ball is 1 kg and the desired acceleration (a) is 5.0 m/s2, the equation simplifies to:

F = 1 kg × 5.0 m/s2 = 5.0 N

Therefore, the person must exert a horizontal force of 5.0 newtons to achieve this acceleration.