GMAS Physical Science Practice Test

According to Newton's Second Law, what happens to the force if mass doubles while acceleration stays the same?

It quadruples It stays the same It doubles It halves

Correct Answer:

It doubles

Explanation:

When acceleration is kept constant, force is directly proportional to mass because F = m a. If mass doubles while a stays the same, the product m a doubles, so the force must double. Think of pushing a cart: with the same speed of acceleration, a heavier cart requires a stronger push, exactly doubling the force if the mass doubles. A quadruple force would require something else to change (like acceleration or mass changing by more than a simple doubling); the force staying the same would mean mass or acceleration didn’t change; halving the force would require mass to halve or acceleration to drop. So the force doubles.

Access more questions from this quiz

Continue to GMAS Physical Science Practice Test for more practice questions and the full quiz experience.

Access More Questions