The statement that a net force causes acceleration in the direction of the resultant force, with acceleration proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to mass, is known as which law?

The statement that a net force causes acceleration in the direction of the resultant force, with acceleration proportional to the net force and inversely proportional to mass, is known as which law?

• A. Newton's second law of motion
• B. Newton's first law of motion
• C. Hooke's law of equilibrium
• D. Faraday's law of forces

Answer: (A)

The statement describes how motion responds to forces: the acceleration of a body points in the direction of the net force and its magnitude scales with the net force and inversely with the mass. This is Newton's second law of motion, often written as F_net = m a, where acceleration is the vector result of the net force acting on the mass. It captures how mass (inertia) resists acceleration and how a larger force or a smaller mass produces greater acceleration, with the same direction as the net force. The other ideas don’t match this relationship: the first law states no net force means no change in motion; Hooke’s law ties force to spring deformation; Faraday’s law deals with electromagnetic induction.

The statement describes how motion responds to forces: the acceleration of a body points in the direction of the net force and its magnitude scales with the net force and inversely with the mass. This is Newton's second law of motion, often written as F_net = m a, where acceleration is the vector result of the net force acting on the mass. It captures how mass (inertia) resists acceleration and how a larger force or a smaller mass produces greater acceleration, with the same direction as the net force. The other ideas don’t match this relationship: the first law states no net force means no change in motion; Hooke’s law ties force to spring deformation; Faraday’s law deals with electromagnetic induction.