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Newton's second law states that if an unbalanced force acts on an object, it will move at constant velocity

Selected Answer:
a-True
b-False

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The correct answer is False. Newton's second law states that an unbalanced force causes acceleration, not constant velocity, which is instead described by Newton's first law.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question references Newton's second law of motion, which does not state that objects move at constant velocity when unbalanced forces act on them. Instead, this law asserts that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net external force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass. This means that, when an unbalanced force is applied to an object, acceleration, not constant velocity, will occur.

Newton's first law, often called the law of inertia, describes a scenario where an object will remain at rest or move at a constant velocity if no net external force acts upon it. An unbalanced force, therefore, results in a change of velocity, either speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction, which is the essence of acceleration.

Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is 'b-False' as unbalanced forces result in acceleration, not constant velocity.

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