Final answer:
Mike could investigate the effect of force magnitude on the acceleration of an object with constant mass to demonstrate the relationship described by Newton's second law of motion, employing free-body diagrams and experimental setups for empirical data.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mike could answer a scientific question through an investigation on force related to Newton's second law of motion, which describes the relationship between the net force exerted on an object, its mass, and its acceleration. One scientific question Mike could investigate might be: "How does the magnitude of a force affect the acceleration of an object of constant mass?" Through experiments, Mike could vary the force applied to an object and measure the resulting acceleration, which would demonstrate the cause-effect relationship described by Newton's second law.
To make this investigation empirical, Mike could use free-body diagrams to visualize the forces acting on the object and calculate the net force to predict the acceleration. He could also explore scenarios where different magnitudes of force are applied for varying durations and observe the changes in the object's momentum, according to the impulse-momentum relationship. This would tie into the concept that the effect of a force on an object's motion depends on both the magnitude of the force and the duration over which it acts.
Examples of experimental setups could include using varying weights to apply force on a frictionless cart to measure acceleration or using a spring scale to apply a constant force over time to a glider on an air track. Such setups enable quantifiable measurements of force and motion, providing concrete data for Mike to analyze.