Lesson: Newton's Second Law of Motion

A mobile phone is at rest on a tabletop and the phone’s owner flicks the phone with their fingers, which applies a 0.01 N force to the phone. The phone is accelerated at a rate of 0.1 m/s² in the direction of the flick. What is the mass of the phone?

A cup of mass 125 g is at rest on a desk when it is accidentally knocked by a person’s arm. The cup accelerates in the direction that it is pushed at a rate of 0.25 m/s². How much force is applied by the arm that knocks the cup? Give your answer to two significant figures.

A skateboarder of mass 50 kg stands on a skateboard of mass 1.5 kg, close to the wall of a building. The skateboarder stands with one foot on the board and uses the other foot to push away from the wall. The skateboard accelerates away from the wall at 4.66 m/s². With how much force did the skateboarder push against the wall? Give your answer to the nearest newton.

An object of mass 1.5 kg has a force of 4.5 N applied to it. At what rate does the force accelerate the object?

A sheet of paper is at rest on a desk next to an open window. A short gust of wind blows in through the window and the sheet of paper is blown in the direction of the gust. The paper accelerates in the direction of the air flow at 0.33 m/s². The air that hits the paper applies a force of 0.001 N to it. Find the mass of the paper to the nearest whole number of grams.

Which of the following formulas correctly relates force, mass, and acceleration?

An object with a mass of 5 kg accelerates left at 3 m/s² while a force of 20 N is applied to it, acting to the right, and an unknown force is applied to it, acting to the left. What is the magnitude of the unknown force?

A bolt that has a mass of 125 g is placed on a horizontally aligned crossbow and the crossbow’s string is tightened. The crossbow’s string is released when the crossbow trigger is pulled, and the recoiling string hits the bolt and applies a force of 45 N to it. The bolt flies away from the crossbow. What rate of acceleration does the bolt have in the direction of the push from the string?

A car of mass 630 kg is moving at 9 m/s. The car brakes to slow down to a speed of 3 m/s in a distance of 6 m. What average force does the car apply throughout its braking? Give the answer to the nearest newton.

An object of mass 7.5 kg has a force applied to it that pulls eastward with a magnitude of 50 N and another applied to it that pulls westward with a magnitude of 150 N. What is the westward acceleration of the object? Give your answer to one decimal place.

An object has forces of 30 N and 55 N applied to it. The forces act in opposite directions to each other, as shown in the diagram. The object accelerates to the left at 0.5 m/s². What is the mass of the object?

A swimmer of mass 48 kg uses her legs to push herself away from a swimming pool wall, applying a force of 280 N. The water that the swimmer accelerates through applies 160 N of force in the opposite direction to that in which she accelerates. What is the swimmer’s acceleration through the water?

How much force is applied to an object of mass 5 kg that is accelerated by that force at a rate of 2 m/s²?

An object accelerates at 4 m/s² while a force of 20 N is applied to it. What is the mass of the object?

An object with a mass of 22 kg has a force applied to it. The graph shows the change in the object’s velocity while the force is applied. How much force is applied to the object? Answer to the nearest newton.

An object of mass 75 kg has a force applied to it. The graph shows the change in the object’s velocity while the force is applied. How much force is applied to the object? Give your answer to the nearest newton.