Newtons Second Law - worksheet

1 a Describe the factors that affect the force of gravity on an object, on the Earth and on the Moon.

mass and gravitational field strength

b Describe the factors that affect the acceleration of an object

mass and resultant force.

2. a A jumping flea has an acceleration of 2000 m/s2. The mass of a flea is 0.5 mg. Calculate the force
exerted by the flea as it jumps.(Hint: 1 mg = 0.000 001 kg)

0.5 mg = 0.0000005 kg; force = 0.0000005 kg × 2000 m/s2 = 0.001 m/s2

b. A man accelerates at 15 m/s2 when doing the high jump, using a force of 1200 N. What is his mass?

mass = 1200 N / 15 m/s2 = 80 kg

c. A racehorse has a mass of 500 kg. It exerts a force of 6000 N with its legs as it starts a race. What is
its acceleration?

acceleration = 6000 N / 500 kg = 12 m/s2

3. A car accelerates from 10 m/s to 20 m/s in 5 seconds. The car has a mass of 2000 kg.

a Calculate the resultant force acting on the car.

acceleration = (20 m/s – 10 m/s) / 5 s = 2 m/s2

force = 2000 kg × 2 m/s2 = 4000 N

b How will the force from the engine compare to the force you have calculated in part a?

The force from the engine will need to be bigger, as it has to counter friction and air resistance to
produce a resultant force of 4000 N.

c The same engine force is used to accelerate the car from 20 m/s to 30 m/s. Explain how the
acceleration will compare with the acceleration from 10 m/s to 20 m/s.

The acceleration will be less. As the car is going faster, the air resistance will be greater; with the same
force from the engine, the resultant force will be less than before.

4. A student weighs a trolley and finds its mass by dividing the weight by the acceleration due to
gravity. Its mass is 1.5 kg.

a Describe how she could find the mass of the trolley using a ramp, light gates and some hanging
masses.
Use the masses to accelerate the trolley along the ramp. (A very good answer will include a description of
setting up the ramp with a slight slope to compensate for friction). Use information from the light gates to find
the acceleration, and the divide the force provided by the masses by the acceleration to find the mass.

b Predict what mass she will find using this method, and explain your prediction.

1.5 kg. The value found using the ramp and light gates is the inertial mass of the trolley, and is always the same
value as that obtained by weighing an object and dividing by the gravitational field strength