Science 9: Acceleration, Force, and Mass Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the relationships between force, mass, and acceleration as defined by Newton's second law of motion.

Acceleration (a)

A change in speed and/ or direction resulting from a net force applied to an object, measured in $m/s^2$.

Newton's second law of motion

The law stating that the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on the object and inversely proportional to its mass.

Force (F)

A push or pull that can cause an object to accelerate, measured in Newtons ($N$).

Mass (m)

The amount of matter in an object, which affects how much force is needed for acceleration; measured in kilograms ($kg$).

Fnet = ma

The mathematical equation for Newton's second law where $\text{Fnet}$ is the net force, $m$ is the mass of the object, and $a$ is the acceleration.

Directly proportional relationship

The relationship between acceleration and net force, where an increase in force leads to an increase in acceleration, represented by a straight line graph.

Inversely proportional relationship

The relationship between mass and acceleration, where an object with more mass will have less acceleration if the same force is applied.

Net force (ΣF)

The total unbalanced force acting on an object; if it is zero, the object stays still or continues moving at a constant speed.

Decelerating

A type of acceleration that occurs when an object, such as a car or motorbike, slows down.

Magnitude and direction of acceleration

Properties determined by the net force applied to an object; the direction of acceleration is always the same as the direction of the net force.

Constant speed in a straight path

A condition in which there is no acceleration occurring because there is no change in speed or direction.

$$N$$

The symbol for Newton, the standard unit used to measure force.

$$kg$$

The symbol for kilogram, the standard unit used to measure mass.

$$m/s^2$$

The standard unit used to measure acceleration.