Final answer:
The soccer ball accelerated faster in the second scenario most likely because the force applied was increased. This is in line with Newton's second law, which states that acceleration is directly proportional to the applied force when mass remains constant.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine why the soccer ball accelerated faster in the second scenario, we need to consider the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration as described by Newton's second law of motion. Newton's second law states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to its mass.
If the soccer ball accelerated faster in the second scenario, the most plausible explanation is that the force applied to the ball was increased (A). This would result in a greater acceleration if the mass of the ball remained the same. Increasing the mass of the ball while applying the same force would result in slower acceleration, contradicting the observation.
An increase in both force and mass could also result in a change in acceleration, but the effect depends on the proportions by which each is increased. However, since the mass was not mentioned to have changed, we can infer that only the force was increased, making (A) The force was increased the correct answer.