Question

A student pushes a shopping cart filled with groceries. The cart has a mass of 12 kilograms (kg). The student pushes the cart with a force of 15 newtons (N). Assuming the ground is frictionless, how fast will the cart accelerate until the student stops applying the force?

a) 1.25 m/s²
b) 2.5 m/s²
c) 0.625 m/s²
d) 0.8 m/s²

Answer 1

The cart will accelerate at a rate of 1.25 m/s² until the student stops applying the force.

Step-by-step explanation:

The cart will accelerate at a rate of 1.25 m/s².

Newton's second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. The formula to calculate acceleration is:

Acceleration = Net Force / Mass

In this case, the net force acting on the cart is the force applied by the student, which is 15 N, and the mass of the cart is 12 kg. Plugging these values into the formula, we get:

Acceleration = 15 N / 12 kg = 1.25 m/s²

Therefore, the cart will accelerate at a rate of 1.25 m/s² until the student stops applying the force.